Who Is Phantom?
by GravityPhantomGirl12
Summary: An ectoplasm reading taken by the Fentons reveals that Danny Phantom is only half ghost. When questioned about this, Phantom insists he has no idea what they mean. But the tests say otherwise. Now the race is on, as everyone in town tries to answer what everyone has been wondering: Who is Phantom?
1. Fentons and Phantoms

**Hey guys! I'm here with my first REAL Danny Phantom fanfiction, I hope you guys love this one! I'll be posting pretty often, so you won't have to worry about waiting forever for a chapter. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Danny Phantom otherwise there would already be 84 seasons.**

* * *

"There! Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for it to finish its readings! Oh Jack, can you believe it? We actually got a sample of Phantom's ectoplasm!" Maddie exclaimed, sitting down next to her husband in the living room chair. She had finally done what she believed to be her greatest achievement in her ghost hunting career. She had gotten an ectoplasm sample from Amity Park's most famous ghost, Danny Phantom.

"I know, and once we figure out what Phantom is capable of, capturing him will be a snap!" Jack said, a look of excitement on his face. They had been waiting a long time for their chance to catch Phantom, and this could be the break they were looking for.

Just then, the machine beeped from the lab downstairs. Maddie jumped up from her chair, Jack following behind her. When they reached the lab, Jack began to fiddle with the instrumentals while Maddie scanned the ectoplasm sample into the machine with the Fenton Ghost Scanner. She stared hopefully at the screen while it loaded, just waiting to see exactly what Phantom was made of.

But what she saw made her drop the scanner onto the lab floor in surprise. She covered her both with both hands. No, it wasn't possible.

Jack looked up at her, noticing the shocked look on her face. "What is it Mads?" After a moment or two, she finally answered. "Jack..." The tone of her voice filled him with concern. "Jack, come look at this."

He walked over to the screen and read what it said. His jaw dropped along with Maddie's at the words on-screen.

Sample reading complete:

50% Blood 50% Ectoplasm

* * *

Danny Fenton had to struggle so he wouldn't fall asleep in English class. His best friends, Sam and Tucker, had been instructed to wake him up if he did fall asleep.

Man, this late night ghost fighting was taking a lot out of him. Not only were his grades slipping, he was also running low on sleep. It wasn't really his fault, if the ghosts would just stop messing with his town, he wouldn't have these issues! Not that anyone knew that. And since nobody knew that the ghosts were causing all the trouble, he took the fall for it. It wasn't any different in his ghost form, either.

Of course it had been easier since most of the town truly believed that he was a good guy, but there were always a few who didn't think he was anything but bad news. Didn't they see the good he did? Couldn't they tell that the few times he _had_ done anything bad, was because he was framed? If he got in trouble for one bad thing, everyone automatically forgot the hundreds of good things he did for them and assumed he had to be evil. It wasn't fair. When normal people made mistakes, it was called a mistake. If he made a mistake, he was called an evil ghost with dark intentions. He could only hope that one day they would see that he really did have a good purpose here.

His thoughts were interrupted by a note landing on his desk. He looked over at Tucker, the sender of the note, before turning back to the note and reading it.

_So, did Klemper FINALLY leave you alone last night?_

He wrote back to Tucker,

**_Yeah, only after I tricked him into going back into the ghost portal. Jeez, when will he learn that I do NOT want to be his friend?!_**

_I don't know, dude. The only guy who might be his friend is the Box Ghost, if anyone._

_**Not on his afterlife. As annoying as the Box Ghost is, he would definitely know better than to be friends with that weirdo.**_

_I wonder who's the more annoying?_

**_Don't even get me started._**

Just then the bell rang. For most kids that meant going home and chilling out, hanging out with friends, or doing after-school activities. For Danny, it meant going home while possible handling a few ghosts along the way, checking in with his parents, and then starting on his homework, only to be interrupted by more ghosts. He was glad to be able to protect people, but sometimes he wished he could get a few days to just relax.

* * *

"I'm telling you Jack, it isn't possible!" Danny heard his mother yell from the living room as he entered his house. His sister Jazz walked in behind him, and they exchanged confused glances before running into the living room together.

"What's going on Mom?" Jazz asked as calmly as possible. Though it was evident on her face that she was a bit concerned. Her mom had never looked this frantic before.

Maddie put her hands to her head and plopped down on the couch. Jack sighed before explaining. "Your mother thinks the Fenton Ghost Scanner isn't working properly, because its reading was 'impossible.'"

Now considering it safe, the two advanced further into the room. "Why, what did it say?" Jazz asked. Her father sighed again. "Apparently it is claiming that the ectoplasm sample from Phantom is only _half_ ectoplasm."

Danny froze and looked up at his big sister. Her face showed that she was just as frantic as he was.

"Um, out of curiosity... what was the other half?" Danny asked. "Apparently he's half human blood. Unfortunately, because we can't identify the human blood, we have no way of knowing who it is!"

"Because it _isn't_, Jack! One cannot be human AND ghost. It's IMPOSSIBLE." She said, emphasizing her words. "Okay? Clearly, somebody else must have accidentally brushed against the sample or something. There is NO WAY on Earth that PHANTOM is human!" Danny visibly relaxed more with each word. As long as his parents thought it was not possible, he was in the clear.

Jack nodded, although it was evident that he wasn't fully convinced. They had tested that invention out time and time again before testing Phantom's ectoplasm. While Maddie might have refused to believe it, Jack had to accept the facts. The scanner was right. Phantom was a half-ghost.

* * *

**So what do you guys think of this chapter? I hope you guys loved it! Write your reviews and tell me what you thought! It means a lot! Until next chapter! =)**


	2. Rumors and Reporters

**Hey guys! I managed to post this chapter soon, like I promised. As the procrastinator I am, this is a huge accomplishment for me. So far, so good... **

**Guest****: I won't do that to you guys! Please don't hit me with that stick!**

**Verdantia****: I laughed when you said "half" because half ghost! HAHAHA! Get it? Half?! You have no idea how lonely I am right now...**

**thechinskyguy: *minion voice* Waaaaa?! That good, huh? THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**MonkeyWriter jr****: So you have wished it, so it shall be!**

**I don't own Danny Phantom otherwise there would already be 84 seasons.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

Danny couldn't believe his father had just done that.

But he had to believe it. Jack Fenton had just announced to the entire town that their hero was actually a half-ghost. Now the speculations were flying faster than Danny himself, as everyone was talking about who the ghost boy's human form might be. Danny couldn't walk past a group of people without hearing the rumors.

"Who do you think he is?"  
"He's _obviously_ one of the jocks. The other dorks in this school would _never_ be as strong as Phantom is!"  
"Or as _hot_!"

"Maybe he goes to our school!" "Of course he does, it's the only high school in our area."  
"Unless he comes from somewhere else."  
"Then why would he come HERE to fight ghosts?"  
"_Right_, because _every other town_ has ghost invasions every day. Get real."

"I wonder who he is..."  
"It could be any one of us!"  
"I bet he's one of our friends!"

Danny turned to look at that last group. All consisting of jocks. No way were these people his friends. The fact that they hated his human form and idolized his ghost form was ironic enough, they had better not expect him to be their friends after they knew his identity.

Wait, what was he thinking?! No WAY was anyone going to figure out who he was! Ugh. Now even _he_ was getting excited about this. That was all he needed, to get excited and make a false move. He could only imagine what everyone would think then.

"Hey guys!" His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Dash Baxter, most popular boy in Casper High. He ran down the hall and stopped in front of the group of kids, who turned toward him. "Let's have a race! We're going to find out who Phantom is, and see who can discover it first!" Much to Danny's dismay, everyone began muttering in agreement.

**_Great, now everyone is going to be trying to figure it out_**, he thought.

Many of them began grabbing their friends and working on their techniques. Sam and Tucker ran up to him and began fake-speculating to avoid suspicion. He heard Paulina exclaim something about how the ghost boy being half human was going to make things easier on her. **_Little does she know..._**

Just then, his ghost sense went off. "Uh, guys? We've got an issue!" He pointed his thumb toward a window, where a ghost was flying by outside. "How am I going to sneak off without making anyone suspicious?" Tucker pulled out his PDA. "I've got it dude."

"Hey guys!" He shouted loudly. "I can hack the security cameras of the school and find out who he is if he transforms here!" He shot Danny a look and nodded his head toward the bathroom while everyone crowded around Tucker and his PDA. Danny took off down the hall. "I'm going ghost!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at FentonWorks, Jack and Maddie tried to make sense of the situation. "Okay, okay! So maybe Phantom MIGHT be only half ghost, but how does that work? A ghost is a ghost! How can it be human? It makes no sense!"

"Yeah, and we're forgetting the main problem. How can somebody be half alive? It's... it's hard to understand."

But then another thought struck Maddie, much worse than what she had been thinking of before. "Jack... if he's human, we can't just dissect him! That's wrong! And from the looks of it, he's only a teenager. Capturing a teenager just wouldn't feel... right." Jack nodded solemly.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked, arousing the question they had both been thinking. "I don't know, but one thing is for sure. We are going to figure out who he is."

* * *

Everyone inside the school had heard the crash and run outside to see what was going on. There they saw their hero, Danny Phantom, engaged in a ghost battle with Skulker.

"Oh, come on! Why can't you go fight Plasmius and save us both the trouble?" Danny asked, annoyance in his voice. Skulker showed no response other than sending a blast of energy in his direction.

"No? Alrighty then!" Danny then proceeded to shoot Skulker with an ecto blast, sending him flying backwards into a building. He then flew over to him with a Fenton Thermos. "I would humor you and respect the game, but I don't feel like playing today!" With that, he sucked Skulker into the thermos and screwed the lid on. Then flew back down towards the sidewalk.

He was used to the usual crowds who would gather to watch the ghost fights. However, what he wasn't expecting were the reporters waiting for him below. They were all talking at once, and he couldn't understand anything they were saying. Finally one reporter managed to get out above it all.

"Mr. Phantom? Mr. Phantom!"  
"Um, call me Danny please."  
"Right. Danny, there have been suspicions floating around that you are actually a type of half-ghost, half-human hybrid. Can you give us the facts behind that?" Danny started to panic a little, but kept his cool on the outside.

"Um, I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by that." The reporter, however, wasn't letting it off that easy.  
"The Fenton family down the block says that they took a test sample of your ectoplasm that proves it. Any comments?" Danny glanced around at the masses beneath him and spotted his parents. No way could he let them figure it out.

**_That's odd, they don't have any weapons with them..._**

"Sorry, but I gotta go." And with that he flew away.

This was escalating quicker than he thought it would. He didn't know what he was going to do, but above all, he had to make sure his secret was safe.

* * *

**So, what do you guys think? I'm glad I was able to update so quickly, thanks to the amazing encouragement from all of you guys! I got 12 reviews in the first hour. You guys have NO idea how happy that makes me! Also, not much proofreading this time, so sorry about any mistakes. Feel free to kick me for sounding dumb.**

**Also, do you guys want Danny's secret revealed in this fanfic? Say Fairly Oddparents for yes, TUFF Puppy for no (in honor of Butch Hartman)**

**Shoutout to my best friend GFNatalie12 for withholding my cookies until I finished writing this chapter. Talk about motivation! Although it was kinda cruel...**

**Review and tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading! See you next chapter!**


	3. Plans and Predicaments

**Yay! I posted on time! For a minute there, I was worried that I would be late! Sorry it took a little while. Earlier I accidentally read a rape fic, and it made anything DP related awkward for me for a while. I felt a little awkward writing this chapter, but I pulled through! I CAN'T LET MY READERS DOWN!**

**bengalqueen**** : Wouldn't have it any other way!**

**Lover chocolate and ice-cream**** : I love exclamation marks too!**

**writers-block-Bgone**** : Let the games begin, indeed!**

**nicktoons5**** : Yeah, I tend to do a lot of thinking in the shower and at bedtime. Wait, why am I telling you this?**

**I don't own Danny Phantom otherwise there would already be 84 seasons.**

**Now, I believe you have a chapter to read? =)**

* * *

"Danny, are you alright? You haven't touched your food." Danny's mom said to him from across the table. He had been staring at his potatoes for quite some time now, moving his fork around the plate. "Is something wrong?"

**_Heck yeah, something's wrong_**, he thought. But he couldn't tell her what it was, so he just shrugged. His mom looked at him with concern, but said nothing more, just watched him stare down at his food.

Danny's stomach wasn't okay with just staring at the food, but he was a bit more concerned with how on Earth he was going to keep his secret! His parents were _not_ stupid. Maybe a little oblivious now and then, but _definitely_ not stupid. They would eventually figure it out if he didn't think of a plan. Come to think of it, he was surprised they hadn't figured it out already.

Jazz knew what he was thinking. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at her. Her eyes said it all. "We'll get through this, little brother. Don't worry." He sent her a smile and finally gave in to his growling stomach. His sister would be there for him through this. That much at least was true, it would always be.

**_Maybe_**, he thought, **_this won't be so hard after all_**.

* * *

Paulina pulled out a checklist of the guys in her school. The moment she heard about Danny Phantom's secret, she went on a search, anxiously participating in Dash's little race. She was _dying_ to find out her crush's real identity.

The odds were he probably liked her too. What boy in Casper High _didn't_? Dash had suggested that race to find his identity, and Paulina kicked it into high gear, desperate to know for sure who he was.

Focusing all of her thoughts on this newfound mystery, she slowly began to cross off the "impossibles" on her list. It would only be a matter of time...

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam Manson was back at her house, contemplating their next move. She was getting more concerned with this, as she knew that Danny was quite famous as the ghost kid and everybody would be trying to figure out who we was. Now that it became a problem for Danny, it was her problem too. She just wished she knew how to solve it.

What could they do now? The people in this town were relentless, they would _never_ let this go. Not until they had solved their mystery and found out who he was.

"Or," Sam said, a thought occuring to her. She pulled out her phone and dialed the all-too-familiar numbers. "Until they _think_ they have."

* * *

Maddie Fenton tried to process everything. It was all happening so fast. For some reason, all of a sudden she felt... was that guilt? For Phantom? She never thought she would think that way. But knowing that he was human made everything different. It wasn't her fault, right? She didn't know he was human, and he had done some pretty bad things in the past.

**_But everybody makes mistakes_**, she thought to herself. **_Maybe I should just try to figure out who he is myself?_**

Before she knew it she was getting ready to head outside. The other people in this town could speculate all they wanted, she was going straight to the source.

Maddie Fenton was talking to Phantom.

* * *

**Oooh, looks like Sam has a plan! And Maddie's actually going to ****_talk _****to Danny Phantom? Like, without weapons involved? Woah...**

**Sorry for the useless bit at their dinner table, I'm a sucker for Danny and Jazz sibling bonding, and I want Jazz to be a big part of this story, so I wanted to make sure you guys also turned some of your attention to her.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this! Again, be gentle, because I went through a very scarring experience. Until next chapter!**

**Wishing you love and cheesecake, GravityPhantomGirl12.**


	4. Walks and Worries

**Hey everybody! I finished Chapter 4, and I am getting more and more proud of myself for keeping my updates regular! Thanks for all the reviews on my last chapter, by the way. It meant a lot to me!**

**Fiddlehoffer : That's the point! :)**

**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan : We'll see, now won't we? ;)**

**Inviso-Al : Read the chapter and find out! XD**

**pieluver1800 : Oh do you? Well... yeah, you probably do. It wasn't that discreet XD**

**Ice Queen : That information is only not able to be disclosed through my author's notes, sorry!**

**Faller618 : *Love *your *talk *to *and *and *like *and *everyone *and *everyone *be *cool *like *to *be *like *and *Amythest *like. Sorry, I had to do it. I have no regrets. Anyway, we'll see what happens.**

******I don't own Danny Phantom otherwise there would already be 84 seasons.**

**And now it's time for... *curtain rises* Chapterrrrrrrr Fooour! =D**

* * *

Sam was a bit shocked, to say the least. She had expected Danny to be more willing to go along with her plan. And yet, here he was, refusing to take part in it.

"Sam, we can't just pawn it off on some innocent kid! That wouldn't be fair!" Sam sat down on her bed. She had expected this call to go a bit differently. "Well, what are we supposed to do, let them figure it out?" "No, but there's no need to let someone else take the heat. I'll just... be extra careful from now on, okay?"

He heard her sigh through the receiver. He knew it was upsetting her, but he couldn't just fake his way through this.

She sat there and thought through all of this. He was right, she knew it. They couldn't frame some random kid just to get Danny off the hook. But the truth was, she was too worried to really care about that. She was more concerned about the fact that Danny's secret might get exposed by people who couldn't keep their nose in their own business. But once Danny made up his mind, he wouldn't be swayed one way or the other. Darn his stubbornness! Finally she broke the long silence.

"Alright, just... be careful, okay?"

Danny agreed and they hung up the phone. This was all too much for him. The pressure was growing and the tension was rising, and that only meant one thing.

It was time to go flying.

* * *

The cold air hit her hard as she walked down the sidewalk on her street. Other than the occasional headlights, the street lamps were the only light she had to go by, and she had to watch her step to avoid tripping. Her jumpsuit could only keep her so warm, and the night air wasn't being so easy on her.

**_This is stupid_**, Maddie, she told herself. **_There's no guarantee that you'll even see Phantom out here! And even if you do, what exactly are you going to say? He's not exactly going to tell someone he considers an enemy his biggest secrets. You'll be lucky if he doesn't hightail it as soon as he sees you._**

Still, something in her told her to press on, even though it was highly unlikely that things would work out that way.

**_Maybe I'm making a mistake. What if I'm wrong? Then what?_**

She sighed. This sure was hard. Was she jumping into things too quickly? Maybe she should just turn back...

But then she spotted Phantom flying overhead.

_**Guess it's now or**_**_ never..._**

* * *

Jazz always knew more about what was going on than everyone gave her credit for.

She hadn't been able to sleep, so she just decided to get some studying done. But she couldn't even really focus on that right now, because it worried her. It really did. If she had a different perspective on everything, if she knew how everyone felt about this, it would be easier. But she had to face facts: She was only one person, and the only feelings she could really understand were her own.

And sometimes she had to admit that she didn't fully understand her own feelings.

She had always been concerned with her brother, even before he started fighting ghosts. When her parents seemed to be too wrapped up in ghost hunting to pay a lot of attention to them, she would always be the one watching after Danny. Helping him in school, with any problems he was having. She was basically his psychologist, sister and caregiver all at once. She was concerned that if she didn't, the lack of attention would affect him in a negative way. She had always been worried about him with the problems in the family.

But now? Now it was different, and much worse. She would get worried about him all the time, particularly regarding his secret. The fact that he fought ghosts who wouldn't hold back was bad, but that wasn't what worried her the most. What worried her the most was that with any mistake, he could be exposed. It could be used as a weakness or he could be, dare she think it, rejected because of it. Now that everyone knew that Phantom was a half ghost, she didn't know what to think.

Jazz liked to believe that if her parents knew his secret they would accept him for it, be proud of him even. But the truth was, she didn't know for sure. Because while she knew they loved him with all their hearts, at the same time, they hated half of him with a passion. Anything could happen, really. The odds that they would be accept him were half and half, there were no guarantees. Would they end up choosing love of their son over their hatred of ghosts? Or would they consider him no more than what they would call "filthy ghost scum"?

It was hard, because for the first time in a long while, she didn't have all the answers.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter! Let me know how I did!**

**Now I'm off to eat fudge, lots of fudge! See you next time! :)**


	5. Hurting to Helping

**Okay guys, so after careful consideration, I've made my decision about this story. Since some of you want a reveal fic and some of you don't, I've decided that it will meet in the middle. His secret will be revealed, but only to a few chosen people. No disappointments about the compromise, right?**

**This chapter is the first one without a change in POV. It's long enough as it is! Anyway, enjoy this chapter! =)**

**Sorry for the footlong author's note.**

**kebby1730 : Hope no further! =)**

**Verdantia : Well then you'll enjoy this chapter!**

**Ghostfudge160 : Exactly! Finally someone who understands!**

**Blackcurse11 : Maybe so!**

**Inviso-Al : KEEP CALM AND READ TO FIND OUT! XD**

**Faller618 : Nah, sorry. I don't really read a lot of other people's fanfictions while I'm writing my own, because I don't want to distract myself.**

**writers-block-Bgone : Yeah, because I can't STAND when people leave her out of fanfics! SHE'S AWESOME!**

**Phantom Ice : I can't wait to see _your _reaction either! And thank you! =)**

**I don't own DP otherwise there would already be 84 seasons.**

**Story time!**

* * *

Maddie continued to follow Phantom's flight path. Her curiousity had gotten the better of her and she decided to find out where he was going. He didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, but she chose to find out.

Suddenly he stopped flying and turned around to face her. There was a long silence that filled the air that was louder than any noise could have been. Maddie was at a loss for words. What do you say to someone who considers you an enemy?

"You were right, you know." He said suddenly. She blinked a few times, a bit surprised that he outright spoke to her.  
"About...?" She asked, although she already knew. She just wanted to see what he would say.  
"About me being half ghost. Well, technically it's called a halfa." He added.

**_Okay, he just confirmed it. Now's the time for questions. Ask him what happened, about who he is, why he didn't tell anyone, are there more like him, ask him now._**

But when she finally opened her mouth, all she could come out with was, "How?" Phantom sighed.

"It's a long story," He began. "Even I don't know how some of it works. All I can say is that there was an incident, and I got ectoplasm infused into my DNA."  
"So, it's a genetic mutation type of thing?" He looked down at the ground.  
"Yeah, I guess so..." Then he pulled his head back up and looked at her, confusion on his face. "Not to tempt fate or anything, but why are you talking to me? You're usually the one chasing me down with bazookas. What changed?"

She was silent for a moment.

"You're human, that's what. And... that kind of makes things different. I wouldn't hurt a human." She thought she saw a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"But, I do want a few answers. If that's okay with you," she quickly added. Phantom gave a nod.  
"Go ahead."

"Well... what about those times that- I mean, you've... you've had your... incidents, in the past. Well... what about those?" Maddie finally stumbled her way through the long sentence. She thought she saw his face drop a bit.  
"See, that's where my problems begin..." she heard him mutter.

"Alright look, as you can imagine, most of the ghosts in the ghost zone don't like me. Not _all_ ghosts are evil, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that _most_ of them are. And the evil ones hate me because... well, I hunt them." He explained. Maddie nodded, and he took that as a gesture to continue.

"And the first time anything ever happened, it was this ghost named Walker." He spat the name as though it was poison. "I accidentally floated a box into the ghost zone a long time ago, and apparently, "that's against the rules." So he tried to get me in for 1000 years in his ghost jail-"  
"1000 _years_?" Maddie jumped in, sounding shocked. "For a _box_?" Phantom rolled his eyes and shrugged.  
"I don't even know with these guys... anyway, my ghost enemies and I had to team up to escape, and we did, but Walker of course wanted revenge. I guess he figured the best way to do that was to 'turn my own town into the prison I escaped.' Long story short, he overshadowed the mayor in an attempt to frame me. And it worked, apparently." He said, and she knew he was referring to how everyone jumped to conclusions.

Maddie blinked a few times, taking all of this in. Why hadn't he explained this before?

**_Duh, because you never let him._**

"So... why didn't you tell anyone about being half ghost?"  
"I guess because I like having a sense of normality in my human form. Well, as normal as my life can get. I am in high school, after all."  
"You go to Casper?" She suddenly asked. Danny blinked.  
"Well, yeah."  
"My children go there too." She said.

**_Wait, is she implying something?_** He thought, a sudden panic arising in him. He looked back at her. She looked as though it was a casual statement. Maybe she was only making a comment?

"Yeah, I kinda know them," He said with a shrug. A sudden smile spread across his face. "Danny and Jazz, right?"  
Maddie nodded. It was weird to think that somebody she always thought of as a ghostly enemy was actually a human who knew her children. But if Jazz hung around him, he couldn't be all bad.

Then again, she didn't know he was a ghost.

"Do your parents know you're half ghost?" She asked suddenly.  
"No. At least, I don't think so. I've kinda been keeping it a secret from them. I don't think they would exactly... accept me." He admitted finally. He never told this to anyone, and he never thought he would. Yet, here he was, sharing how he felt about his mother- _with_ his mother, and she had no idea.

This was too much.

"Not accept you? What kind of parents wouldn't accept their own children?" Phantom sighed again, but not an exasperated sigh like he had before. This seemed more like the kind of sigh you make when you feel sadness coming on.  
"My parents are one of the other 36% that can't stand me. In ghost form, anyway. They kinda live by this "all ghosts are evil" prospect. Sometimes I wish they'd have more of an open mind."

He paused, and this time Maddie was _sure_ she saw tears in his eyes.

"It's weird, having your parents love one side of you and hate the other. It makes me think, if I told them, which side would they choose? And even if they did accept me as I am, would they only love me halfway? That's my biggest fear. I never want to be at a point where I don't have my family to be there when I hit rock bottom. Which has been happening a lot more often lately."

"I get all kinds of heat at school, but nobody knows what I go through behind the scenes. They idolize my ghost form, then trample all over my human form. For other people, it's the exact opposite. Hating me as a ghost and liking me as a human. They don't know that I risk so much for them. I'd do anything to protect the people I love, and I've even helped my enemies. Sometimes I wonder if it's always going to be like this, where I just can't win. Nobody will ever fully understand me. They only see half of me. So it's gotten to the point where I can only really trust three people, those are my friends and my sister. Other than that, I'm not sure where I stand."

"Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It means a lot to be able to help people. But I feel like it's all a little one-sided. And I'm slowly learning this the hard way, but sometimes the one you'd take a bullet for ends up being the one behind the gun. But that won't stop me from trying. They mean too much to me for that, especially my family and friends. I love them more than they could ever know."

Maddie was speechless. She'd never heard anything quite as harsh, and she realized that he had just poured out to her what he couldn't tell anyone else.

**_I must be the only one who has been willing to listen for a long time_**, she thought. And her heart dropped as she realized that she was part of the reason he felt so misuderstood. Nobody ever gave him a chance to explain himself if he made a mistake, and they ignored every good thing he did. The pain of having people you try to help turn on you must be too hard. She wished she knew what to say...

"Do you think I should tell my parents?" She was a bit taken aback by this. He was asking _her_?

She mulled this over. Maybe they hated ghosts, but any good parents loved their son more than their hatred or love of anything else. She was sure that whoever they were, they would happily accept him, ghost and all. And it would make it easier on him, to not have to hide his secret.

Besides, a boy his age would need his parents, especially with all of the problems he was facing.

"Yes, I do. Look, you may not believe it, but parents understand their children better than you know. While I'm sure they aren't half ghosts, I'm almost certain that they would understand how hard it is for you. And from the way it sounds, you need them right now, emotionally, to help you."

Danny sighed, and retreated to his own thoughts for a moment.

He wanted to tell her right then, he really did. But despite all that she was saying, he was still terrified. Anytime he ever got up the courage the say something before, his mind decided to play the "what-if" game. "What if they get hurt because they know? What if they misuderstand you? What if they don't love you anymore?" That last one always made his heart drop, and he would turn and run away, leaving him back at square one.

**_Come on Danny, just tell her already. She would accept you, she would love you, you know she would. Just tell her now._**

He took a deep breath and braced himself. He turned back to his mother, who was still looking at him and waiting for a response. It was time.

"Listen, I-"

Maddie saw him gasp as a blue mist came out of his mouth.

**_That's weird, it kinda looks like-_**

"Um, I gotta go. But... thanks for the talk. I think I know what I'm doing now." He gave her a small smile and then flew off.

Maddie couldn't help but smile afterwards. Just 48 hours ago, she would have been chasing him with an ecto-gun. Now she was only hoping she had helped this boy, or at least given him a chance to get some things off his chest.

It would work out for him, she knew it would.

* * *

**So, what did you think of this chapter? I wanted to dig into the emotions of the characters, especially with Danny and his uncertainty. I actually cried a little while writing this chapter, to be honest...**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this! In the next chapter I'm bringing you into a ****_new _****perspective. You get to see the emotional journey of somebody ****_else_**** during this fanfic. If you can guess who it is, I'll give you a virtual cookie in the next chapter! **

**See you next update! **

**Oh, and you guys can call me CC.**


	6. Fudge Shops and Flying Off

**Hey guys, I'm sorry it took a bit longer than I thought. I expected it to be up yesterday, but I couldn't get the chapter quite right yesterday, so I had to finish it today instead. *crowd boos* I know, I know, but it's only been one day! I promise this chapter will make it worth the wait! *crowd settles down***

**TerraOfLight**** : SORRY, not even close.**

**zigball**** : Thank you! :)**

**Faller618**** : Were you crying because of the emotion or because you had to read my horrible fanfic? XD**

**danny phentom**** : Glad it turned out that way!**

**MonkeyWriter jr**** : Good guess, but not quite!**

**FanFic101Girl**** : Okay! You're reading it right now XD**

**Above the Winter Moonlight**** : Not quite... WOW EVERYBODY IS GUESSING EVERYONE ****_BUT_**** WHO IT IS. LOL I find this so hilarious!**

**KuriMaster13**** : I hear ya there! And thanks for following! :)**

**pieluver1800**** : You'll find out soon!**

**GFNatalie12**** : THERE YOU ARE! XD Here *hands you tissues***

**Verdantia**** : OMG FINALLY! SOMEONE GUESSED CORRECTLY!**

**KumquatLlama**** : Of course! I ****_hate_**** it when people portray Maddie and Jack as villains or make them look cruel. Because I've met her and she's actually ****_VERY_**** nice. And in this situation, whether she knew it was her son or not, she would be a lot more understanding that people portray it in other fanfics. Of course, Danny doesn't know that. I'm going to stop rambling now. Thanks for the review! =)**

**ItTicklesLikeCrazy : I KNOW RIGHT?! IT HURTS SO BAD! And just curious, but what's with your username? LOL just a question, because I want to know WHAT tickles.**

**I don't own Danny Phantom otherwise there would already be 84 seasons.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

For Valerie Gray, this mystery wasn't so mysterious. Once she learned that Phantom was half-ghost, it didn't take much thinking to figure it out.

First of all, his name was a big tip-off. What other Danny was 14 and went to Casper High that lived in Amity Park?

And, once she thought about it, their appearances were incredibly similar, despite being opposite in color.

The people in this town had to be blind to not have figured out who his human form was.

She understood why he would keep it a secret. His parents were ghost hunters, for crying out loud! And so was... she.

Wow.

This was ironic. She had broken up with him to protect him from himself, not only losing him, but also hunting her best friend. Lost the one person who ever really cared about her while _hunting_ the only person who ever really cared about her. And now it was probably too late.

How could Danny ever forgive her now?

She only knew one thing. She needed to confront him, and soon.

* * *

Jack Fenton had been thinking on this a little differently than anyone else. While the identity of Phantom did intrigue him, he considered this more of a scientific breakthrough, and he was getting more and more excited about it. There was such a thing as creature that was a combination of human and ghost! So many questions needed to be answered, and he couldn't wait to figure them all out!

He wanted to further examine Phantom's DNA to figure out who his human form was. Therefore, he became absorbed into his work. His plan was to modify the Fenton Ghost Scanner to sample human blood into a DNA reading. From there, a simple blood test would reveal his identity. But where to start? There were hundreds of teens in this town! He would need more information...

But his work was interrupted by a knock on the door. He sighed, but got up to answer it.

When he opened the door there stood a girl with black hair and teal eyes. She was wearing an orange skirt with a yellow tank top and matching headband.

"Hi," She said, and glanced around nervously. "Is Danny here?" "Sorry, he said he was out taking care of some things."

The girl sighed. "Right. 'Take care of things.' Well, I... think I'll go look for him."

She turned and walked down the steps. She reached the sidewalk and then suddenly turned back around to face Jack.

"Oh, and if you see Danny, could you tell him Valerie's looking for him?"

Jack nodded, and she turned and ran off down the sidewalk.

Jack went back to work, all the while wondering, who was this girl and how did she know Danny?

* * *

Tucker stood behind the corner of the Fenton house and listened to what the two were saying. And frankly, he didn't like this.

Unlike Mr. Fenton and Valerie, he knew what kind of "things" Danny was "taking care of," and it would be a really bad time for Valerie to go looking for him. Somehow she didn't notice him when she ran down the sidewalk, and kept running. Tucker knew he had to think of a plan. He needed to throw her off track before she found Danny!

He was going to chase after her, but realized that it would probably be more effective if he walked up to her from in front. So he took the long way around the block. He knew if he hurried, he would get there just in time.

He did, too. Despite his panting and gasping for breath, he considered that part of his plan to be very effective. So the problem?

He hadn't thought about what he was going to say when he caught up to her. He stood there panting, as a very confused Valerie stood there wondering why he was running so fast.

"Tucker? What are you doing? You _hate_ running!"  
He opened his mouth to say something.  
"Nevermind that. Have you seen Danny around?" She asked, cutting him off.

Uh oh. He hadn't thought up an excuse for this one!

"Um... Danny? Danny... the Danny we hang out with right? Black hair, blue eyes? _That_ Danny?" She let out an exasperated sigh.  
"Yes, _that_ Danny! Where is he?" Tucker's eyes darted around as if hoping he would appear out of thin air. Or more accurately, hoping he wouldn't.

"Uh... he's.. just out with some... things. Handling... things. Yeah, he-he should be back in a little while! Maybe you should just come by the Fentons' later? Or better yet, I'll just take him to you once he gets back from f- from f...udge shop? Yes, that's it! You know how his Dad loves fudge and... Look, you'll see him later, okay?!"

Valerie blinked. Then again. And again. And finally processed everything he had said.

"Tucker, it's obvious you're not going to tell me where Danny is, and if you feel like you can't, that's fine. I'll just find him myself. Because believe it or not, some things are more important than fudge shops!" Tucker opened his mouth to object.  
"Save it, Tucker. Look, it's nothing personal, but I don't have time to deal with you right now."

And with that, she pushed past him and headed out to look for Danny.

Somehow Tucker had known he wasn't going to be able to stall her forever. He could only hope he had held her back long enough so that she wouldn't see anything she shouldn't see.

* * *

By this time, Danny had reached the alley he usually transformed in. He walked to the very end of it, and out came his signature battle cry.

"I'm going ghost!" He said, and on came the white rings, traveling up and down his body and transforming Danny Fenton into Danny Phantom.

"Danny?" Came someone from behind, sounding more confused than shocked.

Danny froze. He would know that voice anywhere. His secret had just been exposed, and to the worst possible person.

He didn't want to face her, he really didn't. But he had to. Turning around to face the entrance to the alley, he saw the girl he had known it was.

Valerie.

"Danny, I-"

Danny didn't want to take a chance. Not stopping to think, he hurried away in a panic, flying off.

He didn't know where he was going, but he had to get away from here.

* * *

**Uh oh! What will become of Danny and Valerie's friendship now? What's Tucker going to say? And how will some of Danny's other ghost friends play into this? Find out next time, in "Who Is Phantom?" =D**

**Sorry if that was a horrible closing. TV show host was all I had for right now. Whatever. See you next update! **


	7. Drinks and Decisions

**I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!**

**I was doing good! I kept going and going and going and going and then... I slammed headfirst into the brick wall known as, "Writer's Block."**

**But hey, I did it, didn't I? And I already know where the next chapter is going, so it should be easier than this one.**

**Faller618**** : She's only suspicious because it's been outright proven that it's the truth, Valerie would NEVER believe that sort of thing without evidence.**

**kebby7130**** : Awww! Thank you! 13**

**KuriMaster13**** : Okay HEY PEOPLES OF THE EARTH, DANNY PHANTOM IS COMING BACK SOON. WATCHING TUFF PUPPY AND FAIRLY ODDPARENTS BRINGS UP HIS RATINGS AND MAKES MORE EPISODES OF ALL OF HIS SHOWS!**

**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan**** : That would be a big help, wouldn't it?**

**Blackcurse11**** : Yes, let's see!**

**shin obin ****: *sigh***

**Phantom Ice**** : This is what her personality is like in reality, I want to credit her for all that she is! She's actually rather nice, despite what her heated temper sometimes leads us to believe.**

**Inviso-Al**** : BANG! Read the chapter.**

**Verdantia**** : Am I keeping realistic with everyone's personalities? I sure hope so!**

**pir84lyf**** : *cough*tryagain*cough***

**I don't own Danny Phantom otherwise there would already be 84 seasons. (*le sarcastic gasp*)**

**ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

Danny Fenton layed on his bed, contemplating everything that had happened in less than three days. It was all too much.

Had he really just blown his secret identity in front of Valerie?

He didn't want to believe it. He wanted to believe that it was all a dream, but it wasn't.

What would she do now? Would she still be his friend, or did she now hate him as a whole? This was the very reason he had never told anyone. Would she tell everyone? Would she tell his parents?

Should _he_ tell his parents?

He was never sure. He wanted to, that much was true. And he had to admit it would be nice to not have to keep his secret from them anymore. They could finally be a close family again. Sometimes he felt like the lies and secrets were just tearing him further apart from them. But he would rather be distant from them than lose them forever.

His mom's words from the night before kept ringing through his head.

_"What kind of parents wouldn't accept their own children?"_

**_You have no idea, Mom._** He thought to himself.

_"Parents understand their children better than you know."_

"Sure, that's why they haven't figured it out yet, because they know me SO well!" He retorted aloud into the darkness.

_"I'm almost certain that they would understand how hard it is for you."_

**_No, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't..._**

This decision making was taking more out of him than his ghost fights were lately. As important as it was, he sometimes wished his head would just leave him alone for a while.

**_I need a drink of water._**

* * *

Jazz Fenton shoved her book between the cushions and moved to a feign-sleep position on the sofa. She had heard footsteps on the stairs in the formerly silent house. Once the steps had moved toward the kitchen, Jazz slowly peeked over the back of the couch, relaxing when she saw that it was only her brother.

She was used to him being up late because of ghost fights, but she sensed something different this time. Something... wrong.

"Hey, Danny?" She called, careful so as not to be loud enough to wake their parents. He looked over at her, and she motioned him to come into the living room.

He walked into the room and plopped himself down on the couch.

"Danny, what's wrong? You seem really out of it tonight, more than usual. What's wrong?" Danny looked like he was about to say he was fine or make up some excuse, but then his expression changed.

"I don't know, Jazz. I... I just... I want to be able to tell Mom, I really do." He told her, and she noticed how sad he looked through this. Her poor brother. He was going through too much for a boy his age.  
"So, what's holding you back?"  
"I... I guess I'm just... afraid." She looked over at him, and it was obvious he was holding back his tears.

There was a silence for a moment.

"Valerie found out."  
"_What?!_" Jazz hadn't meant to sound so frantic. That probably wouldn't be much help for Danny.  
"Yeah, I was going flying again, to try to decide whether to tell Mom. Valerie saw me transform. Now I don't know where we stand, I'm not even sure if I can face her again."  
"What did she say?"  
"She didn't say anything, she didn't have a chance. I panicked and flew off." He paused.

"But... I realized that I would feel the same way if Mom and Dad found out. I want them to love me, all of me. But I feel like I'm gambling here. I either gain their trust and acceptance, or lose them altogether. I want to tell them though. Before all of this started, keeping it a secret seemed to be the best idea."

"So what made you change your mind?" She asked him.

"Well... I had a talk with Mom last night... in Phantom form." Jazz looked taken aback by this, but said nothing. "And, she said things that made it seem like... made it seem like she thought any good parents would accept me. Like she would do the same thing in '_their_' situation."

"Then what are you afraid of?" She asked him, and it was obvious she had struck a realization in him.

"I... I... nothing." It sounded as though a light had suddenly turned on. "Nothing, there's _nothing_ to be afraid of! And that means..." He looked over at Jazz. "I'm gonna tell her tomorrow, first chance I get!"

Jazz smiled at her little brother. "Good, but first you need to get some sleep." Danny rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Okay, okay! See you tomorrow Jazz." And he gave his sister one last hug before running to his room.

Jazz smiled. He had finally made his decision. Soon he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

* * *

**What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Want to set my car on fire and drive it off a cliff because of this chapter? Let me know how I did!**

**This chapter might seem a little less suspenseful, but it was an important part of the buildup in the plot. Danny's decision making had to be included in this in between the last chapter and this one for a reason!**

**See you next update!**


	8. Telling Truths and Told You Sos

**Hey guys! *DODGES VARIOUS BOWLING BALLS* I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! Bad news first, I'm sick. Good news, I WROTE THE CHAPTER ANYWAY! And sorry it's so late, I entered the magical unicorn world known as Procrastination, and it's a lot less magical than I thought it would be...**

**Phantom Ice : First off, YES to the car thing! Haha but Danny always puts off his problems!**

**pir84lyf : One at a time!**

**Fiddlehoffer : If anything, Danny's parents not knowing is a weakness, because enemies can threaten to tell them his secret if he doesn't (insert demand-of-choice here). Also, everyone in the ghost zone knows his parents anyway. If they wanted to do something, they would have done it by now.**

**The-Amazing-Gracie : I know, but at least it leaves you wanting more!**

**FanFic101Girl : Now you're speaking my language!**

**Inviso-Al : No problem! I like your question reviews, they're entertaining!**

**Rosezelene Ersa : Well, I'm speaking from personal knowledge, that Valerie is actually very nice. Despite her anger towards Danny Phantom, she DOES have a heart. And what she said in "D-Stabilized" is most likely true, she doesn't exactly HATE Danny, she's just angry with him, not to mention that she doesn't quite understand that he's NOT an evil ghost.**

**If you found out your best friend was really someone you didn't like, what would you say?**

**It may be hard at first, but you'd eventually accept it, especially if you were wrong about the person you didn't like.**

**Valerie is human, has a heart and feelings. And even though Danny doesn't know it, I can tell she cares a LOT more about Danny then she has anger towards him in Phantom form. I'm good with sensing emotions, and Valerie comes off as a really sweet person. She never treats ME badly, and I'm practically a complete stranger to her!**

**And to get back to my earlier statement about D-Stabilized, please realize she turned ****_against_**** her own employer in favor of ****_helping the enemy_**** and gave up her chance at a better life, ****_all because Danielle was human_****. Sacrificing her own needs and her chance for a "life upgrade" to save a human? That shows character, my friend.**

**Sorry for the long explanation, but I felt the need to speak up in Valerie's defense. She's not a bad person or a villain, she's a good person with good intentions who just happens to have the wrong target. And if I have the timeline for this show organized correctly, that won't be for long.**

**And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for... *drumroll* Chapter 8!**

* * *

Maddie Fenton stood at the sink doing the dishes, when she heard the sound of her son's footsteps coming down the stairs. Over the years she had grown able to recognize each family member by the sound of their footsteps.

She smiled to herself. This was another one of those sentimental things that came with being a mother, ones that not even she could understand. She loved those little things so much.

They were much like the interactions between her children. Man, what would she do when they went off to college? Those two got along so well. She and her sister, while they loved each other, never had a very close relationship. She was glad it was different between Danny and Jazz. It seemed they had been even closer over time. She was the only family member he really even talked to anymore, it seemed. Like he felt more at ease with her.

And suddenly her smile worked its way into worries as she wondered why. Not that she didn't want him to have a close relationship with his sister, but if Maddie was honest with herself, she had to admit she felt a bit hurt by the fact that Danny wasn't as open with her. Had she done something to change that? Could it be their work? Did Danny feel like their work was more important than him? She sure hoped not. She had always vowed to herself to never let work come between her and her kids. Could she have unwittingly done just that? He didn't seem too upset right now. Maybe she should just relax. She went back to listening to the playful interactions between them.

Suddenly it got really quiet, and Maddie could feel the mood in the house change from lighthearted to serious and solemn. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but the hushed tones of their voices implimented that it was something they didn't want her to hear. After a moment they stopped talking, and she assumed one of them had left the room until she heard Danny's voice behind her.

"Hey, Mom?" His voice sounded full of concern and dread, which only made her more worried.  
"Yes, Sweetie?"  
"Can I talk to you for a second? In private?"

Maddie immediately turned off the sink.  
"Of course Danny! Here, follow me."

She led him down the hall towards her bedroom, not missing the look of reassurance Jazz sent him. Whatever he had to talk about was obviously very serious.

She sat down on the edge of her bed, patting the spot next to her to offer him a seat too. He shook his head, and the message from his eyes was very clear. He had to stand to do this. She noticed one gulp from her son, and then he dove right in.

* * *

Jazz tried to focus on her schoolwork, but her mind kept running back to Danny. He was probably telling her right now. She wished she could be there, to help calm him down, reassure him, help him explain something if he couldn't do it himself. But she knew that he had to do this himself.

She couldn't deny though, that she felt worried. She had always believed that her parents would accept Danny in a heartbeat, she knew them well enough. But now the last minute panic settled in and she didn't know what to think. She wanted more than anything for them to just accept him as he was. Maybe then they could all be one big, happy family again.

She could only hope that he knew she was out there, ready to help him should he need it.

* * *

"Okay, so... I've been lying to you, for a long time." He looked up at his mother, who was less than surprised. She had suspected he had been lying about something, and keeping a heck of a lot of secrets, too.

"And... I'm going to tell you the truth now." He hesitated. Maddie looked up at her son, spotting the fear in his eyes.

Fear. That's what it was. That expression she couldn't quite place before was now suddenly clear. He was... _afraid_, to tell her?

"But, I need you to keep an open mind, okay? Just hear me out, ask any questions you need to, but don't jump to any conclusions, okay?"  
"Okay..." She was unable to keep the worry out of her voice. She was beginning to grow scared of what this might be about herself.

"Look, I would tell you, but it's easier if I just show you. Don't-" He paused briefly. "Don't... freak out."

Skipping his usual battle cry, he closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her face as he changed.

The white rings appeared, seeming to travel more slowly than they usually did, up and down his body until they evaporated into thin air, leaving Phantom where Fenton stood moments before.

He heard his mother gasp, but still refused to open his eyes for fear of her expression. What now?

He couldn't take it back even if he wanted to. He would have to accept whatever was coming. He braced himself for the rejection that was most likely coming his way.

However, the exact opposite happened, and Danny was surprised when she actually hugged him instead.

"So, you don't hate me?" At this she pulled back and looked at him, obviously taken back by this question.

"Hate you? Danny, I love you! You're my son!" There was a moment's pause. "But... Sweetie why didn't you tell us before?"

His face dropped as he looked down at the floor. "You're ghost hunters..."

Maddie's heart dropped. The quiet in his voice let on more than his words did.

"Wait, you thought-"

**_He thought you wouldn't accept him, she realized. He literally thought you would hunt him if you knew._**

"Danny we would never do that!" She exclaimed, and Danny, feeling safe now, reverted back to human form.

She gaped, not at his tranformation, but at her own blindness.

"How long have you-" She stopped herself from wording it _that_ way. "How long have you had these powers?"

"A little over seven months." He replied matter-of-factly.

**_Seven months. This has been going on for seven months, and you never noticed. What kind of mother are you anyway? She thought to herself._**

Apparently the grief on her face was more evident than she thought, because her son suddenly became concerned. "Mom? Are you okay?"

She snapped herself out of it. "Yes, it's just-"

And then it came. She couldn't stop the realization from hitting her like a ton of bricks.

**_I've been hurting my own son._**

"Oh Danny, I'm so sorry!"

Now it was Danny's turn to hug her.

"Oh Sweetie, there's nothing you can't tell us! Your father and I will love you no matter what!"

Danny smiled. "I know."

"And speaking of your father..." She began, raising an eyebrow at Danny, and he knew what was coming next. "You know you're going to have to tell him, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Just... help me explain?"

She nodded, and at that they walked out of the room.

Danny decided not to put it off, he would tell his Dad the moment he got back from the store. In the meantime, he walked back over to his "always right" sister, who had only one thing to say.

"I told you so!"

* * *

**Watcha think? Do you hate me? Anyway, let me know what you thought! And again, sorry for the ten foot long author's note. Thanks for reading, see you next update!**


	9. Suspicious Studies and Secrets Unfold

**Hi everybody! I'm ****_SO_**** sorry it took this long! I have schoolwork now and it isn't always easy. On top of that, this chapter was one that I ****_really_**** struggled with. It's ****_so_**** hard keeping Mr. Fenton in character, given how his personalities tend to change depending on the situation. An example would be how he's really smart, but often clumsy as well. Because of this, I had to space out my writing a little bit so I could ****_SLOWLY_**** adjust into his character. Once I got into it, I was able to let him take over and write himself, which is what I love my characters to do. Whatever, you get it, the point is: It was hard, but I did it. And it's getting easier now.**

**Inviso-Al ****: I too find it hilarious, but sadly, it looks as though they won't be appearing in this one =(**

**Rosezelene Ersa**** : Definitely the most character developement! I'm glad Butch chose her to become the "side character turned into an EPIC BUTT-KICKING CHARACTER!" It definitely fits her well!**

**sorenalice**** : Really? *sniffles* THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**Phantom Ice**** : =O WHAAA?! HOW DID YOU READ MY MIND?! ANSWER ME!**

**KumquatLlama**** : It is the mind of the typical mother. And it's funny you should mention him...**

**tytaff**** : Definitely! In fact, I've got "special plans" for a few of them.**

**Guest**** : Aww, thank you! =) You're so sweet!**

**ItTicklesLikeCrazy**** : If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!**

***uses the same disclaimer that I used during my LAST 5458925923 disclaimers***

**Enjoy this one! =)**

* * *

Danielle flew carefully through the back streets, hiding in the shadows of buildings and back alleys whenever possible. She had learned on her last visit here that her cousin was a lot more popular than she thought, having seen some of the news articles on her way out of town.

_**Lord knows what they'll do if they see me. The headlines will be bursting at the seams with tales of a "female Danny Phantom." And oh, how ironically right they'll be.**_

She was grateful for Danny and Valerie having stabilized her the last time she was there, for she was now able to move at much faster speeds than her first visit. And unless there were any more "unexpected surprises", finding Danny should be much easier this time around. She hoped she could get there in time to warn him...

* * *

"But he _can't_ be the ghost boy but he _has_ to be the ghost boy but he _can't_ be the ghost boy but he _has_ to be the ghost boy but he _can't_ be the ghost boy but-"

Her self conflict was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. She ran over to it and flung it open.

"Star! Glad you could make it, come here!" She said, grabbing the visitor's arm and dragging her in. She pushed her door closed behind her and sat back down at her desk table.

"Nice to see you too." Star said as she pulled up a chair and sat nearby, clearly amused by the amount of papers that were piled up on the desk, most of them having something to do with Danny Phantom.

"Gee, Paulina. Look at this desk! I know you're desperate to find evidence on who the ghost boy is, but-"  
"Actually, I need evidence that he's _not_ who I think he is! Now help me through this!"

She grabbed a photo of the ever-famous Danny Phantom from the pile on her desk and laid it down away from the others.

"Check out this picture." Star raised an eyebrow at the Latina.  
"Yep, that's definitely a picture." She said sarcastically. Paulina rolled her eyes.  
"That's not what I meant! Here," She jumped up from her chair and ran to her dresser, snagging a yearbook from off of it.

"Think, Star. When Danny Phantom spoke to me that time I saw him hanging from a tree, he used my name. I never told him my name! He's got to be in one of my classes!"  
"Are you KIDDING me? Paulina, everyone is Casper High knows you! People you've never even seen before call you by your first name! Just because he did doesn't mean he's in a class with you!" Paulina flipped open the yearbook pages to her homeroom class.

"Ah! But if you're right, why did it seem he was crazy for me when we ran into each other in that hospital?"  
"Because you're egotistic..." Star muttered, not loudly enough for her friend to hear.

"Look, I've just got a feeling, alright? He's got to be in Lancer's class. He's _got_ to!" She pulled out a list of notes on Danny Phantom. Star struggled in vain to keep a straight face. However, mainly for the sake of her friend, she looked over the list anyway.

**1. Danny Phantom is seen near any ghost fight in Amity Park, and most of them happen at Casper High.**

**2. He usually comes only moments after the ghost comes, which means he can't be far away from where they attack.**

**3. Some ghosts seem to be coming after the ghost boy on purpose.**

**4. A lot of them attack in my homeroom class.**

**5. A lot of kids in my homeroom have never been seen at the same time as the ghost boy.**

**6. A few kids tend to run off right before he shows up.**

Star stopped reading, obviously far from convinced.

"Paulina, that still doesn't count as proof. Of course Danny Phantom comes near ghost fights, he _fights ghosts_. What do you expect? And so what if they come after Danny Phantom? They're evil ghosts, they obviously hate him and want to make his life harder. _Duh_ they attack Casper High most, because that's obviously where he goes. As far as the kids who run off, of _course_ they run off. It's a _ghost attack_! Not every teenager has nerves of steel, you know!"

Paulina said nothing, simply raised her eyebrows.

"Okay..." She began slowly. "But, I think I know who he is. Will you hear me out? See if I can't convince you."

Star pulled out a water bottle from her purse and unscrewed it, taking a few thoughtful gulps before screwing it back up and setting it gently on the desk. Paulina raised an expectant eyebrow at the debating girl. After a few moments of silence, Star let out a sigh of defeat.

She then crossed her arms over her chest and sent a challenging look towards her friend, then looked back at the notes on her desk.

"Impress me."

* * *

Minutes passed, and soon a very nervous Danny Fenton was walking down the stairs to his parents' lab.

"Isn't there a place we can do this that _isn't_ filled with ghost weapons?" He asked his mom on the way down. Maddie gave him a reprimanding glare.  
"Danny, your father isn't going to pull a ghost weapon. You're his son." He was still a bit uncertain, which didn't go unnoticed by his mother.

"And if it helps, he was just as against hurting a human as I was before I even knew it was you. You're fine, Danny."

He gave her a small smile, and they continued down the steps to the lab, where a very busy Jack Fenton was absorbed into his work. He still noticed their presence by the footsteps on the stairs, however, and was soon boasting proudly about his work.

"Only a few more touches and it will be complete!" Danny glanced nervously at his feet.  
"Um, Dad?" He uttered, much too quietly for his father to hear.  
"Why, all we need is more information on Phantom and we'll be able to find out who he is! Maybe we can find out if there are others like him too! This is a major scientific breakthrough!"  
"Dad?" He repeated a little louder, and this time his father turned around.  
"Yeah son?"

Danny nervously folded his arms across his chest, trying - and failing - to suppress a gulp.

_**Come on, just tell him.**_

He took a deep breath.

"IknowwhoPhantomis," He said in one breath. His father blinked, baffled by his outburst.  
"What?"

After a moment of silence, Danny found some hope underneath his uncertainty. He mustered up all of his confidence, and finally mananged to speak the words, louder and stronger, for this was the first time in a long while that he had been able to tell the whole truth to his father.

"I know who Phantom is." He pronounced each word carefully, as though the taste of the confidence was good.

A look of excitement crossed Jack's face, and he looked up at his son expectantly.

"Me. It's me."

His father appeared completely confused for a moment as the truth settled in. And suddenly, a look of understanding crossed his face, looking at Danny for a sign of confirmation.

A sign that he was happy to give.

"I'm Danny Phantom."

* * *

**What do you guys think? Was it worth the wait? Tell me if I did okay! I've been crying over my lack of posting lately, hence the reason I tried to give you all an update through my profile (I can't stand when people post a chapter JUST to put an author's note, how rude of you to play me like that!) but I'm not sure if you all saw it. It was just an update to show you all I was still alive. Although my arm feels like it's about to die from exhaustion if I don't rest it soon, which is why I'm typing this fast. But that only makes it worse... Ugh, why am I still talking, I am such a spazz!**

**'Till next time! =)**


	10. Promises and Plots

**Hey guys! I'm here! Thanks for waiting patiently, this chapter came much faster and much easier than the last one, as I was sure it would. And this chapter will reveal what's ****_really _****going on!**

**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan**** : Good to know XD Thanks for the review! =)**

**Some Weird Chick**** : Cliffhangers are my specialty, sorry! LOL**

**KuriMaster13**** : You think I'm gonna let Danny off the hook that easily? Not a chance! He's got other stuff to handle before he can deal with them!**

**Phantomlover05**** : Oh my gosh your review made me ****_so_**** happy! Thanks so much! You're too sweet! =)**

**Inviso-Al**** : Funny you should mention that...**

**Son of Zeus0001**** : Yeah, I'm not sure if I should try that because I might throw up while writing it. Paulina is my least favorite person out of all of Casper High, and I literally can't stand her. Oh well.**

**Shade**** : Of course! I would ****_never_**** do that to you guys. Ever.**

**Phantom Ice**** : Actually, I don't think black cats are really bad luck because we had one for a few years and I didn't get any more unlucky than I already was. As for the others though, toxic waste is ALWAYS lucky! Unless of course, you fall into it.**

**Jewel Fenton**** : Thank you! I'm doing pretty good now =)**

**SibunaLover123**** : I'm not discontinuing? LOL I don't do that. If at any point there were ever a story that I didn't want to continue, I would pass it over to my friend Natalie or let my brother John continue it through my account since he doesn't have one. But this story is one I'm feeling really excited about! So no worries! =)**

**Guest**** : Whatever you say Guest, if that is your real name =P**

* * *

It didn't slip past Valerie's mind, the reason Danny had taken off like that. He obviously wasn't expecting her to know. She hadn't exactly had time to talk with him.

**_Don't I just have marvelous timing?_** She thought sarcastically. **_He probably thinks I'll be coming after him with an ecto-gun or whatever..._**

Which wasn't the case, of course. If only she had been able to reach him before or even after he transformed! Then maybe she would have been able to talk to him instead of having him fly off so fast.

How was he even feeling about all of this anyway? Was he mad at her, for hunting him all this time? She wouldn't be surprised if he was. She knew she would have been. Maybe he was disappointed, having not wanted her to find out? He could even be scared that she would tell others.

_**Don't worry, Danny, your secret's safe with me.**_ She mentally promised. She knew it wouldn't ease his fear, but it would at least help her with her guilt.

Because, whether one heard it or not, a promise was a promise. It was something to hold on to. Something to keep holding on to, even if she lost everything else along the way. A promise is something that keeps you from changing your mind. Once you promise, there's no backing out. It's all you now, and because you made that promise and intend to stick to it, there's no way for it to change, no matter what else does.

Danny had been flying around earlier that day, and she had tried to talk to him. But he was nowhere to be found when she looked around. Instantly she had donned her sensor goggles, which allowed her to see ghosts while they were invisible. He'd been floating only a few feet away from her, and his expression said it all. He had still been terrified, probably because now she was in her ghost hunting suit and knew his secret.

She was only using the suit to fly around at that time, but he hadn't known that, and Valerie realized she would get nowhere like this. At least, not while she was wearing the suit. At that, she had flown off, pretending she had never seen him, and continued to fly and try to clear her mind.

And that's what she was doing now.

**_Boy, does this help! It's like those negative feelings can't even catch up with me! How fast am I flying, anyway?_**

She looked down at her radar. 118 miles per hour. Not bad.

**_This is an amazing feeling, I can see why Danny does it so much._**

Danny. How did her mind always manage to lead things back to him? She didn't want to have to think about it until she could talk to him, with him as a human and her without her suit on. Just two normal teens, having a conversation.

Normal teens. That was a pretty weird thought coming from Valerie. She wasn't a normal teen anymore. And she wouldn't be, with or without her suit.

And, neither would Danny. Especially with all those people who were desperate to figure out his secret.

**_Well, I sure won't be the one to tell them._**

And then her thoughts were silent. This was a resolution, she realized. Her mind had settled for keeping the secret, and with that all other thoughts fell with it, like puzzle pieces into place. For once, her mind was as clear as the bright sky above her.

Just then, a black and white blur rushed past her. She quickly snapped back to reality as only one thought raced through her mind.

**_Danny._**

But the rushing figure was gaining speed. Valerie didn't want to fly too fast, she might scare him. She continued at a normal pace, heading casually after him.

Then it seemed as if he changed his mind and stopped flying, giving Valerie a chance to catch up. As she made it up to the floating figure, she was shocked.

She wasn't looking at Danny.

It was Danielle.

Danielle seemed to notice Valerie and immediately turned around.

"Oh, hey Dani!" Valerie tried.  
"Hey Valerie..." But it seemed Dani's mind was on something a bit more important than greetings. "Have you seen Danny around? It's kind of serious." Valerie's eyes narrowed.

"Is it Plasmius again?" She spat, as though his very name would contaminate her entire existence. Dani shook her head.  
"No. At least, I don't think it is." Valerie visibly relaxed.  
"Okay. I saw Danny flying around here earlier, but I don't know where he went after that. He may have gone back home."  
"Okay, thanks Valerie!" She said, preparing to fly off.

"No problem! Oh, and Dani?" Danielle turned around. "If Vlad ever bothers you again, you let me know. I'll kick his Fenton stalking, cat petting, chess playing butt!" Dani gave a laugh.  
"Will do!" And with that, she turned around, heading in the direction of what Val knew would be Fentonworks.

* * *

Danny counted the number of times his father blinked. So far it had been five. The three of them were standing there in silence for what felt like an eternity. Finally his father broke the silence.

"So, you're...?"

"Half ghost? Yeah..." Danny finished awkwardly, keeping a subconscious eye on the weapons near the counter.

More silence.

"Um, I-"

"DANNY!" Suddenly the lab door flew open with a bang, cutting Danny off midsentence. The three stunned Fentons whirled around to see a very frantic Danielle behind them.

"Danielle? What's wrong?" He said, noticing the look on her face. His father looked confused.

"Danielle?"

"Danny, who is this girl and why does she look so much like you?" His mother asked.

"Wait, they know? Is that why Valerie-" Dani began.

"Valerie? Is she that black haired girl who came by yesterday?" His father asked. Danny nodded.

"Yep, that's her. And, yes Dani, Valerie knows. She saw me go ghost!"

"Go ghost?" Came his mother from behind.

"Yikes... What did she say? I mean, I know she knew about halfas already, but-"

"Wait, how does Valerie know about your powers? I thought she didn't even believe in ghosts." Mrs. Fenton added.

"Believe in ghosts?" Danielle said, before busting out into laughter. "Are you kidding me? She's a-"

"That's Valerie's business." Danny said, giving Danielle a hard look before turning back to his parents. "And yes, she knows about halfas."

"_Halfas_? So there are more?" Mr Fenton asked.

"Yes there are more! There are two others."

"Who are they?"

"Danny, you didn't tell them about me and-" Dani started in.

"No, I didn't tell them yet! I just told them about me today! Mom earlier and Dad right before you came in!" He interrupted Danielle.

"Oh... so they don't know about me?"

"No, they don't. But since they're against hurting humans, I suppose it's safe for you here."

"I'm confused." Danny's mom stated. "What's going o-"

She didn't have time to finish. Just like that, two white rings formed around Danielle's waist. The Fenton parents gaped as she turned into a girl who looked remarkably like her son.

"Danny, why does she look so much like you? In both forms?"

Danny suddenly looked very nervous.

"Um, that's kind of a long story..." He started. "You see, Plasmius-"

"There's no time for long stories!" Danielle interrupted. "I came here to warn you!"

"Warn me about what?"

"I've been exploring the ghost zone lately. The other day I overheard this ghost named Walker-"

"Walker?" Danny's eyes flashed a bright green at the name, much to the surprise of his father, who was still getting used to all of this.

Maddie looked closely upon the two.

**_Walker... Why does that sound so familiar?_**

Suddenly she remembered.

"Wait... isn't Walker that ghost you told me about the other day? The one who-"

"Completely obliterated my chances at _ever_ getting trusted by many of the citizens of Amity Park? Yep, that's the one." Danny interrupted.

"The other day?" Dani suddenly piped up. "I thought you just told her today."

"I had a talk with her the other day, in Phantom form. What does Walker want now, other than to mess me up?"

"Word travels pretty fast in the ghost zone..." She said, her voice trailing off as though she didn't want to finish that sentence.

Danny was confused for a moment. What news could possibly-

And then it hit him.

"He knows that everybody here knows I'm half ghost. He's going to reveal my secret in front of everyone and I'll be deemed a freak for life!" He said, sitting on the lab floor and leaning back against the wall.

"Not if we can stop him." Jack said matter-of-factly. Danny turned his head to look up at him.

"Yeah, but... what are we going to do?"

* * *

**There you have it! I hope it wasn't too obvious where I was going with the Walker thing. I wanted him to be the villain of the story both because he has intentions of harming Danny emotionally, which is a problem on its own, but also because I wanted to be able to have him get his butt kicked. I HATE WALKER WITH A BURNING PASSION THAT CANNOT BE SURPASSED BY ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD!**

**Okay, sorry for my rant... Hope I did good on this one! Thanks for reading! Until next time! =)**


	11. Pictures and Passing Notes

**OMG! DID I REALLY WRITE THIS AT 9:45 AM?! I'M NEVER MOTIVATED IN THE MORNING! I usually can only write after 10 pm! Haha great to be able to update early!**

**In case it gets confusing at the note writing part:**

_This _= Danny

_This_ = Sam

**This **= Tucker

**SmartyMcSmartle : I know many people who would agree! IDK why but I think I hate Walker more than Danny does!**

**The Prime Writer : Thank you! That means so much! I'll be sure to let you know if I do! =)**

**Kasena : _Will_ his secret be revealed? To who? How will they defeat Walker? Will _Walker_ reveal his secret? Or will it be their own carelessness? Never underestimate the power of a curious acquaintance!**

**RaphealplusMikey : LOL it's a pretty catchy tune! HE'S GONNA CATCH 'EM ALL 'CAUSE HE'S DANNY PHANTOM!**

**KumquatLlama : I know, everything happened so fast! That's _gotta_ make his head spin!**

**Phantom Ice : You'll either get superpowers or you'll die a horrible, painful death. I guess you could try it once, though.**

**JamieLynnPhantm : WOAH! Please watch the language on my reviews, thank you. I do not like foul language, thanks. As for your review, thank you so much! I'll certainly keep it up! =)**

**Hoytti : Wait, what?! Plasmius does?! I don't remember that... :O I'VE FAILED AS A PHAN! Please tell me what episode that was in and what it was for!**

**Some Weird Chick : Things will certainly take a fast turn! Don't forget that there are still certain people who are after Danny's secret!**

**Rainosa : He didn't have time to react. He has a son to help! =D**

**Son of Zeus0001 : He's not really dead, just has a DNA rearrangement But Paulina doesn't know that, so it's still pretty creepy. As far as she knew throughout the show, he was a full ghost. That's kinda... weird.**

**Guest : Yep! I hate Walker more than any of them! ANY. OF. THEM. *hatred burns through my body like a lava river through an active volcano***

**GFNatalie12 : Hey bestie! Thanks for review! And yep, I'm glad you caught the TUE reference! I was hoping the readers would be able to connect to Valerie and Danny's friendship more if I gave it a sort of link.**

**Disclaimer: IF I OWNED DANNY PHANTOM DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD BE WRITING EPISODES INSTEAD OF FANFICTIONS?! YEAH SO NO I DON'T OWN IT. OKAY BYE.**

* * *

"I don't believe it."  
"Mm hmm." Her friend smirked and folded her arms across her chest.  
"I don't believe it!" She repeated, astonishment in her voice. "But... how?"  
"I don't know, but look. It's gotta be him." Paulina said, pointing to a picture of Danny Phantom. She then pointed to a picture of the boy she believed was his human form.  
"Wow!" Came Star's only reply.

"Paulina!" A voice rang out from the hallway. "Please come down for dinner! And Star, if you're staying here, please call your parents to let them know!"

"Are you staying?" Paulina asked her friend. She nodded in return.  
"Sure! I'll call my parents."

And with that, the two girls rushed out of Paulina's room and down the stairs, slamming the door behind them. Causing one picture of Casper's own Danny Fenton to fall off of the desk and float gently down to the ground...

* * *

"Danny, will you calm down?" A very annoyed Sam Manson asked. Her best friend had been fidgety all morning, and all day people had been giving him weird looks. "Thought you wanted people to pay _less_ attention to you."

"I can't help it Sam! Walker could be here at any time!"

"Dude, she's right. I mean, we're not expecting Walker to come around for at least a few more days." Tucker piped up.

"Yeah, but you know how he is! How do I know he's not watching me right now, overshadowing more of our classmates?" Danny said, suddenly sending a suspicious eye towards Tucker. Without warning, he poked him in the side of the head.

"Ow!"

"Yeah, coast is clear." Danny confirmed while Sam stiffled a laugh.

"Relax, Danny. There can't be too much harm done! Your parents already know your secret, and they don't think you're evil." She told him.

"Yeah, but Valerie does, and she also knows! How do we know she won't tell anyone?"

"I don't think she would stoop that low. As much as she can't stand you, she has some restraint." Tucker reassured.

"Gee, thanks Tuck. Anyway, I'm trying to keep low profile. So if we have something secret to say, we say it on paper." He said, pulling a piece of notebook paper from his desk.

"Ah, passing notes in secrecy. Nice," Sam commented. They were certain they wouldn't get caught this time, they had been working on their sneakiness lately and hadn't been caught passing notes for a long while now.

"Alright class, please open your books to chapter 28." Came Lancer's voice as he walked into the classroom.

_He looks especially bored today_, Danny wrote before passing it over to his two friends.

Little did they know, Lancer was far from bored. After all, how could one be bored knowing that someone in his classroom was hiding such an important secret? While he was not a fan of Danny Phantom as such, he had to admit he was intrigued. He pretended to be working hard while watching his students for signs of secrecy.

There was no such sign today, other than Danny Fenton, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley passing notes again. Normally he would have called them out for it. However, for some reason, today he allowed it to continue.

**And you look especially anxious**, Tucker had written.

_What do you expect? Last time Walker was around, I became public enemy number one! What do you want me to do, bake welcome cookies?!_

_Yeah, sure, why not?_ Sam wrote, now joining the conversation.

**He will accept the friendship offering and leave you alone!**

_Or you can poison the cookie if you don't want to take a chance. Same effect._

_Ha ha, you guys are so creative. Why not use some of that creativity to help me think up a plan?_

_Here's a plan: CHILL OUT! If Walker wanted to reveal your secret, he would've done it by now._

_No, because he's waiting for an opportunity when there are more people around! He's clever, I'll give him that. But I'm not letting him win! I'll beat him this time, once and for all, if it's the last thing I do!_

Sam rolled her eyes at the note. Tucker leaned over to her.

"Yeah, he sure isn't anything like his dad!"  
"I heard that!" Danny said from behind, clearly annoyed. "How can you guys joke at a time like this?"

Unfortunately Danny has said it a bit louder than he intended to. To the other classmates it was nothing. However, it was much more than that to the very curious Mr. Lancer who was standing at the front of the room.

**Dude, sorry. You just need to lighten up a bit. Maybe you can try explaining everything to the town before he reveals your secret.** Tucker continued the conversation on paper, realizing how loudly they had been before.

_Yeah, I should bring up the one thing that caused everyone to hate me. They've only just now finally forgotten! I don't want a repeat of "Paranormal Non Grata"._

**I know, but unless you explain that the mayor was overshadowed, I'm afraid you might be more of one.**

_And if Walker reveals your secret, it'll only get worse. It's better if you do it now, Danny._

_Ugh. Okay, I'll give it a go. But if I see one weapon, I'm out of there!_

Finally the bell rang. Students rushed out of the classroom to get to lunch. Danny was desperate to just make it through the day. Once he was home and out of public eyes, he would have less to worry about.

The three best friends were so rushed to leave that nobody noticed when their note was dropped behind them, now at the mercy of their suspicious teacher.

* * *

**You know you love me and my cliffhangers. Hey, I was a bit less evil this time, right? How did I do?**

**Also, if you like and/or respect the DannyxValerie shipping (which won't be done in this fic, this isn't a romance) or just want to have a sad moment, go to GFNatalie12's "What We Could Have Been", which is Val's perspective after Phantom Planet. I think she wrote it pretty well! Check her out for me! =)**

**See you next update!**


	12. Questions and Close Calls

**Hey everyone! I wanted to write earlier today but we had to go to the emergency room. My mom has a kidney stone. It's a small one, nothing she needs surgery for or anything, but it put her in a lot of pain. Anyway, I made it here now =) Also, I never noticed I had hit the 200 review mark! What?! AWESOME! =D**

**KuriMaster13 : Danny's not the most attentive, is he?**

**impossibleThing13 : No. I have a burning hatred for that series. Completely stupid, not to mention demonic. Never seen it, never will. Just a random idea I had. Also, I've considered pouring soy sauce into my brother's soda before.**

**TerraOfLight : I feel ya... And you don't have to wait any longer! =)**

**Jewel Fenton : It's cool, I don't mind! =) It's not like the idea is copyright =P No biggie =)**

**Phantom Ice : OH MY GOSH. I READ YOUR FIC "WHO I REALLY AM" AND OMG I'M HOOKED. LIKE I LITERALLY CAN'T BREATHE WAITING FOR THIS. YOU ARE AN AMAZING WRITER! Update soon for me, okay? =)**

**Raphaelplusmikey : It's awesome that you have a paranormal bestie! =D**

**Tip (ghost bestie of Raphaelplusmikey)********: IKR? I hate the Box Ghost too, but he's fun to make fun of! Glad you like the story! =) BTW, you may become an original character in one of my future fics XD what do you look like? =)**

**Phantomkit : LOL glad you liked that XD**

**Invader Random Phantom : One word: SUUUUUUUURE!**

**Disclaimer: I THINK I WOULD KNOW IF MY NAME WAS BUTCH HARTMAN!**

**Well, here you guys go! =)**

* * *

Jack Fenton's head had spun for a long while after Danny told him his secret in the basement lab. Whether it was because of the shock of it all or because it had been a blur with the swirling confusion following his son's confession, he didn't know.

He had known immediately how his son had received these powers. He hadn't told Maddie what he suspected until he knew for sure this for fear of worrying her. He later confirmed it with her, who said that when she talked with him in ghost form days earlier he had mentioned having ectoplasm infused into his DNA. Upon hearing this, he voiced his theory, to which Maddie nodded in deep thought.

She had also explained the supposed "crimes" their son had "commited" and the real reasoning behind them, not that it would have mattered to them either way what the truth of the matter was.

By this and their son's earlier conversation with "Danielle", who was now asleep in the guest bedroom upstairs, he was able to put together bits and pieces, but not much. There were a lot of questions going through his mind.

First of all, who was Danielle and why did she look so much like Danny? She even had a similar name! And she was half ghost too? It made no sense. Was she related to his ghost form, and then became half human? No, that girl had to be around 11 or 12, and if his theory was correct then Danny hadn't had his powers for that long. Maybe Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom used to be separate and then merged? But how would that explain Danielle? Anything could be a possibility now, and there were too many to guess which one it could be.

And when Danny and Danielle were talking, they had mentioned that there was another half ghost. Who was it and how did those two know about him or her?

_"Danny, you didn't tell them about me and-"_

_"No, I didn't tell them yet! I just told them about me today!"_

Whoever it was, it obviously wasn't someone Danny felt comfortable talking about, since he had seemed urgent to cut her off before she could say a name.

_"Danny, why does she look so much like you? In both forms?"_

_"Um, that's kind of a long story... You see, Plasmius-"_

Plasmius. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded familiar...

But hard as he tried, he couldn't bring himself to recall where he had heard it. So he forced himself to focus on his other thoughts.

Who was that Valerie girl? He vaguely remembered how she had stopped by the house the other day, glancing about nervously as if she had something serious to talk about.

And now he knew what that was. Apparently she had seen him transform. He hoped she wouldn't tell anyone. But who was she to Danny?

And finally, what was with this Walker ghost? What exactly did he want with his son?

Too many questions, not enough answers...

Just then Maddie came walking down the steps.

"She's still fast asleep. Poor thing must have had a really long flight." She paused on her way down the stairs as she realized what she had just said. "Who is she, anyway? Did Danny say anything about her when he left for school this morning?"

Jack shook his head.

"Nothing, other than reminding me every five seconds to watch out for her, keep her safe, and don't let anyone mess around with her. Whoever she is, she must have been through a heck of a lot."

"Well, I just hope that we'll get some answers later when Danny gets home. For now, at least she can get some rest."

He nodded absentmindedly, trying once more to place some of the bits and pieces together. He had never felt so confused.

* * *

And, for once in her life, Valerie felt useless. It was hard on her, watching her friend constantly look over his shoulder in fear that somebody might suddenly shout out "Hey! I know who Danny Phantom is! He's Danny Fenton and he's standing right there! You may mob/hate him now!" And she was able to do absolutely nothing about it.

Her friend Star had taken a seat next to her. Alternating tables had become a regular thing for her. She had noticed Star's confused look when she didn't sit with Danny Sam and Tucker as usual and instead sat a few tables away, but she wasn't about to explain. Star was soon blabbering to stories that Val would usually have listened to if her thoughts weren't elsewhere.

"So I was at Paulina's last night..."

Yep. More drama and girl talk. She could afford to miss this.

She watched as Danny sat there with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes darting around the room. Occasionally somebody from their group would glance towards Valerie, and she found herself often having to turn away to avoid looks of suspicion, nervousness and outright disdain.

She had been worried when it came to lunch time, for the first time in forever she was debating whether or not to sit with them. If she sat by them she might make them feel awkward or make Danny nervous, but if she didn't they would think she was avoiding them, and then she'd never get to talk to Danny.

"...that she found out who Danny Phantom is!"

Valerie snapped back to attention at those words. She whipped around to face her friend.

"Um, I know who he is too, but I think we shouldn't-"

"Wait, how do you know who he is?"

Valerie looked around nervously, refusing to look in the direction of her friends in fear that they would suspect her.

"Um, I-"

_**Don't tell her how you really know. Make up a lie, make up a lie...**_

"I saw him transform..." She finally managed. She would let Star believe what Danny believed.

"You mean you know that he's D-"

Valerie instictively slapped a hand over her friend's mouth, noticing that the group of people the the next table had turned to their direction.

"Nothing to see here, carry on!" She told them, and they turned back and continued their earlier conversation.

"Yes, I know who he is," Valerie said more quietly, hand still over Star's mouth. "But I'm not telling anyone, and neither should you. Star, look at him."

Star glanced over toward Danny, who looked like he was about to pass out from anxiety, and instantly felt bad for almost blowing his secret.

"He's a nervous wreck," she continued. "He wants this secret to stay a secret, otherwise he wouldn't have kept it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I was the one who ruined everything for him. And," Valerie looked at him again, seeing the worried frown on his face. Tucker apparently said something to annoy him and Sam, because they both gave him a critical glare, Danny's eyes flashing green momentarily. "I don't think he could either."

She looked back to Star. "So you can never, ever tell anybody okay?"

Star nodded, and Valerie finally pulled her hand away.

"But what about Paulina?" Star asked. Valerie thought for a moment.  
"Has she told anyone yet?"  
"No, she's upset with Dash over something. I don't know exactly what, but she won't be talking to him for a few days."  
"And she still has a crush on her beloved ghost boy?" Valerie asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Star's eyes lit up, realizing what her friend was getting at.

"Yes, in fact she does. And it would be a crying shame for her to, oh, say, completely lose all chance with him by revealing his secret identity."

Both girls smirked at the knowledge that they had won this round.

Now if only things were that simple with Danny...

* * *

"Mom! Dad!" Danny came racing through the front door. Both of his parents looked up. They had prepared to ask him if they could ask some questions, but before any of them could say anything, Danny began looking around searchingly.

"Where's Danielle? Is she alright?" Maddie nodded.

"Yes, sweetie, she's fine. She's upstairs sleeping right now."

"Which reminds me. We've been kind of confused by this whole thing. Who is Danielle exactly?" His father piped up.

"Oh, right! Well, you see this ghost named Plasmius-"

"Hey Danny!" Came an excited voice down the staircase. Danielle came racing down the stairs, immediately giving Danny a hug. She then stopped to take it in, nervously glancing back and forth between him and his parents.

"I have a habit of interrupting every time you try to explain, don't I?"

"Yeah, kinda," Danny said with a smile. "Nothing crazy happen today?"

Dani gave him an 'are-you-being-serious-right-now' look. "Danny, our entire lives revolve around crazy things happening."

Danny laughed at this. "Fair enough. No fruit loops?" Dani shook her head.

"In this house? You kidding? _Never gonna happen_," She emphasized. "You got a plan for Walker?"

"Nope. I've pretty much accepted that in a few days everybody will know anyway. With all the reporters following my ghost form, it won't be long now. Besides, maybe it's better this way. Reporters would twist it around and make it different than it really is."

"Kinda like how Walker didn't twist things around last time?" Dani asked sarcastically. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Nobody does a reporter's job like the news in this town. Pretty sure they had a hand in photoshopping a little bit during the last incident..."

"Whatever. Danny, you can't give up yet!"

"Got that right!" Came a voice from the door. Sam stood there with her arms folded over her chest smugly. Tucker walked up behind her.

"Hi Sam, hi Tucker!" Danielle greeted them.

"Hey Dani!" "Hi Danielle," they responded simultaneously.

"Danny, don't you even think we're going to let you give up so easily!"

"Sam, there's no way we can stop any of this from happening. Although it might be better if I could tell them myself, so Walker doesn't get the satisfaction..."

"No way dude," Tucker said. "We have a plan. Walker can't do any of this if he never gets the chance to arrive here, right?" Danny eyed his friends suspiciously, then nodded slowly.

"So we'll just have to make a preemptive attack." Sam explained.

Danny suddenly realized what this meant, and a smirk crossed his face. He looked around the room, exchanging a glance with everyone there.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go pay a visit to our old friend Walker."

* * *

**Well, this chapter was written pretty easily. Pretty important one though. Oh, and maybe some of you know what's coming in later chapters? I decided to skip the logic and plans and get right to the part where we go to Walker's lair and KICK HIS MANIPULATIVE BUTT! Looking forward to that a little too much though... It's a good thing I've got Natalie here to watch me write it and make sure I don't get too violent... **

**See you next time! =)**


	13. Shredders and Showdowns

***SOBS SO LOUDLY THAT FUTURE VLAD HEARS ME FROM OUTER SPACE* GUYS. I AM SO, SO, SO, SO, ****_SOOO _****SORRY. THERE IS ****_NO_**** EXCUSE FOR MAKING YOU WAIT THIS LONG. I HOPE YOU ALL CAN FORGIVE ME!**

**This is the longest chapter yet, so I hope that helps to make up for it. Again, SO sorry! This is my first attempt at a fight scene IN MY LIFE, so it may not be that good, but I tried my best and constructive criticism is fully appreciated.**

**Some Weird Chick: I agree with you 100% there. I'm a HUGE sucker for revelation fics, I spend hours online sometimes searching for them. My favorite of all time so far is "A Secret Uncovered" by Darth Frodo. Great author + great idea = AMAZING fanfiction. You should check out their story sometime! =) "Tortured Truth" is also a pretty good revelation fic. **

**Universal808: *sarcastic* I'm ****_getting _****to that! XD**

**JamieLynnPhantom: You have NO idea how hard I fangirled when you brought up Phineas and Ferb LOL and yes, I have an inner Doofenshmirtz, but he can't come out all the way just yet. Give it time!**

**Jewel Fenton: Thank you, it passed in a matter of a few days and she is doing much better now (although she is still ****_very_**** busy!) Thank you so much for the concern! =)**

**ItTicklesLikeCrazy: Okay, you are NOT a terrible reader. I feel like a terrible writer for making you wait so long! **

**YeahSecretNinja: I'M SORRY! Here it is! =)**

**Disclaimer: HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO SAY IT?! I DO ****_NOT_**** OWN DANNY PHANTOM!**

**Enjoy this one!**

* * *

_Mini-theories describe a small, very specific aspect of development. A mini-theory might explain fairly narrow behaviors, such as how self-esteem is formed or early childhood socialization. These theories are often rooted in the ideas established by grand theories, but they do not seek to describe and explain-_

A knock sounded loudly on the teen's door, interrupting her reading.

"Jazz, we need you!"

Danny.

Jazz jumped out of her chair and sprang for her bedroom door, not having time to wonder who "we" was as she rushed to see what was wrong. She flung open her door.

Before her stood an interesting sight indeed: Her brother was right near the door, standing there in his ghost form as though he just got back from a fight, except much more relaxed; Sam and Tucker stood there, Sam with a wrist ray, and Tucker's PDA looked like it had- a laser peeking out?! As well as both of them holding the Fenton Ghost Blasters*; Her parents stood behind the others, Jack holding a Fenton bazooka at the ready, and Maddie holding the Fenton Quarterstaff*, as they often did before ghost hunting; and then, last but not least, there stood- a girl who looked exactly like her brother?

Jazz tumbled backward upon seeing the group, the sight of it being a strange one even for her.

"I'm confused," She started. "What- how do- I mean, does he... huh?"

"No time to explain." Danny stated seriously. "Grab a Fenton Thermos and any other weapons we can find. We're paying a visit to the Ghost Zone."

Jazz nodded and ran back over to her desk, where she picked up a Fenton Thermos and a small Ghost Blaster (that she had left there after her last time helping her brother fight a ghost) and headed back to the group.

"Alright," Danny said, "Let's move."And with that they all went downstairs and piled into the Specter Speeder, on their way to Walker's ghost jail.

* * *

"Alright guys, let's keep it nice and steady," Danny whispered to the others, the group crawling quietly down the hall of Walker's jail in an attempt at a sneak attack. "No sudden movements."

They inched further still until they were right next to Walker's office doorway. There Danny carefully peeked around the corner to survey the situation. Nobody else was in that room, just the warden himself, who was too engrossed in his paperwork to notice the young halfa there. He pulled back next to the wall just out of Walker's sight perception and turned back to the group, who curiously looked to Danny for information they would need to make their move.

"Okay, he's the only one in there. Now if we can sneak up to his desk without him seeing us-"

"Right up to his desk? Can we even make it that far?" Danielle asked from behind.

"We'll have to. If we just walk through the door, he'll have time to call reinforcements. I'm sure he has a help signal or panic button in there somewhere. And we can't attack from below. For all we know, the room below us is probably crawling with guards! This is the best way." Danielle nodded in understanding, and Danny continued with the plan.

"If we can make it up to his desk before he sees us somehow, then we can lure him away from his desk so he can't signal the guards. We need the element of surprise, so I'm thinking if we can somehow distract him-"

"**INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!**" A female voice proclaimed through the loudspeaker as a siren started up. The emergency lights flashed red all throughout the prison, illuminating strangely on the green eyes of the two halfas.

"What the- How did they-?" Danny suddenly stopped midsentence. "Your hand," He said to his mother, realization in his voice. She gave him a blank look.

"What are you talking abou- OH MY GOSH!" Her look of confusion changed to that of panic and shock as she looked down at her arm, which had phased through the floor and into the room below without her knowing. She quickly yanked it up and looked at her son in bewilderment.

"Stuff from the real world just phases through things in the Ghost Zone," he explained. Maddie visibly relaxed, although confusion was still evident on her face.

"But how does-"

"Uh, guys? This is not the time for questions!" Tucker called out from behind, pointing to the end of the long hallway where three or four guards were racing towards them at fast speeds.

"What's the plan now, Danny?" Jack asked.

"RUN!" Danny yelled, and the group turned around to the other end of the hall, only to see more guards.

"What do we do?!" Danielle cried out.

"In here!" Danny responded, and the gang ran into Walker's office without thinking. The door slammed and the sound of a clicking lock rung out loud for both sides of the door.

Suddenly the group remembered Walker sitting at the desk behind them. Slowly, ever so slowly, the group turned around to face the ghost, who pretended that he hadn't noticed them walk in and continued writing for a moment.

He looked up at the group, scanning over them slowly as he put his pencil down. Finally his eyes came to rest upon Danny, who was standing in the center of the group.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Danny Phantom himself." He said in a taunting voice. "I've been waiting for you."

"Walker." Danny stared the ghost down, placing both hands flat on his desk. "What do you want?"

Walker ignored his question and walked around the desk to face the group in front of him.

"I hadn't expected you to walk straight in and set off the alarms though, I assumed you would be trying to surprise me. Although I am quite surprised about the fact that you're working with the two people who are supposed to hate your very existence." He gestured toward Jack and Maddie, who glared at him harshly despite the emotional impact those words had on them.

"How _dare_ you talk to our son like that?!" Maddie snapped.

Walked said nothing to this, simply smirked in her direction before walking over to Danielle.

"Ah, I've heard of you. The ghost boy's clone, right?"

"CLONE?!" Came the shocked cries of Jack, Maddie and Jazz. Danielle sent a nervous smile towards the group.

"She's not just a clone! She's family," Danny said to his parents. "Guys, this is Danielle. She-"

"I'd love to hear your heartwarming backstories, but I'm afraid we have other matters to deal with now." Walker cut him off.

"Okay, I'm _really_ starting to get annoyed with everyone interrupting me," Danny stated.

"And now," Walker said, ignoring Danny's remark as he calmly strode back to his desk. "I believe you have a meeting with my security guards?"

And with that, Walker pushed a big red button on his desk, causing the walls of the room to lift and reveal hundreds of evil ghost goons beyond the wall.

The looks on the faces of his friends and family showed that they knew it too.

They were doomed.

* * *

Lancer sat at his desk, pondering whether or not to look at the folded note laying on his desk. His curiosity was piqued, but it would be wrong to read over his students' private conversations. Still, they had been in his class while writing the note, which made it his jurisdiction. It was probably nothing anyway. Those three were always passing notes in his class, which he usually read. There was nothing too serious in them before, why would this time be any different?

Finally the battle between his curiosity and his morals was won, and he began to open the note. What he saw was not what he was expecting.

"Walker? Secret? PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE?! _White Fang_! Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom!"

He dropped the note on the desk in surprise and looked around. Upon remembering that he was alone in the school, he sighed in relief. An ourburst at discovering the boy's secret would be very unwelcome at this point.

But what was he to do now?

He could easily just place the note into the wastebasket and pretend he had never seen it. No, somebody could find it there. He would have to shred it.

He walked down to the secretary's office and promptly put it into the shredder, pushing the button on the side and watching as the note slowly disappeared from view, becoming no more than a memory of what was never meant to be seen.

* * *

Hundred by hundred, the ghosts came. There was no sense of order, simply ghost after ghost after ghost. They were advancing rapidly on the small group, whom now realized with much concern that they were outnumbered by thousands.

A trivial fact such as numbers would not unnerve their opponents, however, as they had grown quite used to unfair fights and had much experience in the fighting field.

A matter of moments and the first blast was fired. Tucker was holding his laser PDA upgrade in his hand, one that he had just blasted into the crowd of ghost goons challengingly. Everyone stared at him, shocked that Tucker Foley, _Tucker Foley_, would be taking the first shot in this battle.

Several of the ghosts raised their arms as a threat of oncoming ecto blasts.

And the ragtag group of ghost fighters raised their weapons in response.

And for a moment, just a moment, a hateful peace settled among the two groups as they stared each other down, waiting on the edge for their opponents to make a move, everyone armed with their form of battle and prepared to strike at the next shot.

Finally, as the silence settled in and calmly fooled those who were naive enough to believe it, a clear blast rang out loudly.

Followed by more. And more. And before anyone knew it, it was a full-on battle.

Maddie leapt right into the action as she expertly sliced ghosts left and right. Danny gulped at the prospect despite his parents' acceptance.

He didn't have time to watch her slice off enemies though, as now a small group of ghosts had swarmed in Danny's direction and began a full out physical combat.

One from above flew down closer, and Danny could tell he wasn't holding back as he got closer to his head. He ducked his head just in time to see the ghost's fist slam into the wall. Another one saw his distraction and took it as an opportunity.

**WHAM!**

Without warning, the ghost delivered a blow to Danny's midsection. Danny winced but held his ground. One ghost started to deliver a kick in his direction.

Danny flipped backwards, raising himself up the wall. He then dove down, grabbing the ghost who had kicked towards him by the shoulder. He flipped in the air, throwing the ghost onto his back with a slam.

Meanwhile, Jack and Dani stood in the near center of the room and firing away.

"So-" A loud shot. "-what did that ghost mean by-" An ecto blast that was easily dodged. "-saying you were Danny's clone?" A ghost charged toward Jack. Dani easily shot it out of sight.

"Well," Kick. "You see-" Punch. "This ghost named Plasmius, he's kind of-" Slam. "Obsessed with Danny." She gave a satisfied whoop as she flung another ghost.

"Obsessed? Like how? What kind of-" He shot his bazooka towards an oncoming group of ghosts. "-obsessed?"

"As in-" She kicked a female ghost right in the shin, followed by grabbing her arm and throwing her across the room. "-wants to make Danny his apprentice/son, has a vengeance towards your family, stuff like that."

A ghost that was larger than the others zoned in on them. Dani shot him with an ectoblast at the same time Jack fired his bazooka.

The effect of an ecto-blast and a formula that was anti-ectoplasm combined was certainly a bad one on the ghost, as it seemed to waver before exploding into ectoplasm. Jack turned back to Dani, who looked unnerved by the display.

"But why-" Zap. "Danny?"

"Plasmius is a halfa." She stated simply before taking out a few more ghosts with ecto blasts. "He thinks that gives him-" She uppercut punched another guard. "-more of a chance. Like Danny would ever work with that-" Sidepunch. "Fruitloop." She finished.

"He's a halfa... do we know him then?" Jack asked before shooting out four guards who stood a few feet away. Dani knocked another row of them out. They had been so busy talking they hadn't realized they had taken almost all of the ghosts out, and that only one remained.

"Not well enough," Dani stated, as though that would satisfy Jack. She grabbed the remaining ghost and flung him head-on into the wall with a force that caused him to collapse instantly.

The battle was far from won, as there were still hundreds of ghosts around the room. But they had handled their little section, and that made them feel pretty proud.

"How on _Earth_ did you learn to fight like that?" Jack asked in awe.

"With my past? That was cake." And then she flew off full speed towards the next group that needed handling.

"Hey, wait! STOP BEING SO MYSTERIOUS!" He called after her. She smiled and rolled her eyes as she increased her speed, striking into the group of ghosts and knocking them down like bowling pins.

"How are we holding up?" Jazz piped up to Sam.

"Not so well. Running out of ammo too. We need a way to refill. But how do we-" She paused and looked down at her wrist watch. "Ecto-energy. Duh."

She turned to her partner, who was desperately trying to shoot away some of the guards with the little firepower she had left.

"Can you hold them back long enough?" Jazz nodded.  
"Yeah, I think so. Run and get an energy refill. I'll try to get these guys under control."

With that, Sam ran off and Jazz was left with one particularly stubborn guard. She fired a shot. He fired one back at her. She barely managed to dodge it.

"Take that, Ghost Guard!" She exclaimed as she pushed the trigger on the ghost blaster.

Nothing.

"Darn it! Out of ammo... Maybe I can- AHH!" She was cut short by an ectoblast in her direction. The ghost missed her by an inch, but the ectoblast hit the ground and threw her a few feet away. The ghost approached fast...

...only to get shot down by Sam, who arrived at the scene not a moment too soon.

"You okay?" She asked, promptly helping Jazz up.

"Yeah, I guess... but we've got bigger problems now!" She pointed towards a large group of ghosts who had gathered in front of them.

Sam took Jazz's blaster, refilling it before handing it back. The two gave each other a smirk.

"And now we don't."

**BLAST!**

Meanwhile, Danny was fading fast in a far corner of the room. Hundreds of ghosts had swarmed around him moments before, which were clearly no match for him. However, the massive number of them left him worn out and he was growing weak. He stopped and doubled over, desperate to catch his breath. As he did this, Walker struck in fast, flinging the boy onto the ground many feet ahead of him.

Danny winced at the impact as the blow to the hard ground knocked all of the air out of him.

Maddie gasped at the spectacle, shocked that this was actually happening to her baby boy. She saw his form start to flicker slightly, and knew that he was trying desperately to remain in ghost form. As she watched the tall ghost approach him she had only one thought in her mind: **Help him.**

She grabbed an abandoned ghost blaster off of the floor a few feet away, and began sneaking around the corner. She needed to surprise the ghost.

Danny struggled to hold on to his ghost form, knowing that he couldn't possibly win this battle if he reverted back. Not that he could do much as Phantom either right now, but he would never submit to that.

**_Come on! Get up!_** He tried, but as hard as he tried to force himself to move, he found himself unable to do so.

"Did some damage control did you?" Walker asked tauntingly, as his sidekick Bullet approached from the side.

"Yeah, _your_ damage." He accused, trying to get up once more to no avail.

"Seems like I did a good job. Took you an awful long time, didn't it?"

"Doesn't," he coughed. "Really matter how long it took."

"Oh it doesn't, does it? If you had just told them earlier you all wouldn't be here right now at the mercy of my guards. It's _your_ fault they're going to meet their demise. Though it doesn't really matter now, because you're finished anyway. Bullet, would you do me a favor and finish the job for me? I don't want to get my hands dirty."

Bullet grinned mischievously at Walker, then proceeded to charge an ectoblast and aim towards the halfa. Walker smirked.

"Been waiting for this a long time, ghost boy. Goodbye."

_**COME ON, FENTON!**_

Nothing.

And then...

**BOOM!**

The sound of a blast resonated throughout the large room. Looks of confusion on the ghost fighting team changed to shock and disbelief as they turned toward the direction of the sound.

They watched as the form of the ghost slowly flicker away...

And then it was gone.

* * *

**Did I just do something ****_really evil, _****other than an evil cliffie? **

**Did I just team up Sam and Jazz? Did I have Dani tell a bit about her past? Did I just let a villain win?**

**Did I just... did I just kill off Danny?**

**I'm gonna be on a trip for a few days, so it may be a bit before I can update it depending on if we have wi-fi (I hope we will!) I'll still be writing though, so I'll have an awesome chapter waiting for you guys when I get back! **

**Sad news time: I think this story is coming to an end soon. Either the next chapter or the one after it will be the last. Sorry, guys =( I may OR MAY NOT do a sequel, we'll have to see if I come up with any ideas. Either way, I'll continue writing more stories after this one, and I hope you guys will remember this one as my first fanfiction.**

**I'll see you guys next update. Au revoir!**

**-CC**


	14. Arrivals and Answers

**I'm back with good news and bad news. Good news: This is not the last chapter. Bad news: The next chapter is.**

**I've had such a fun ride on this story. It's been amazing for me. I hope you guys know how amazing it was and that you guys inspired me to write this story. **

**Inviso-Al**** : I hate cliffhangers too. That's why I write them. I don't know the science behind that...**

**Some Weird Chick**** : At least try to stay conscious long enough to see how it ends!**

**ItTicklesLikeCrazy**** : Thanks to you my entire family has started using "Oh My Ghost!" It's a thing now. You've started a thing. Congrats.**

**KuriMaster13**** : I would LOVE to do that! I'll probably be crossing everything over with DP, so there's no worries XD**

**RaphealplusMikey**** : Dude, wake up. You'll never know unless you read, which you cannot do when fainted. I know, I've tried.**

**Tip**** : I just might do that! Also, I probably wouldn't make you a villain. You'd be a helper. Definitely a helper. You just seem too awesome to pass up.**

**Ice Queen**** : O.O *backs away slowly and reaches for ghost/human shield that I stole from Vlad* Just for safety... *activates shield***

**Seriously though guys. I'd be nowhere without you.**

**Enough of my sappy author's notes. You can continue reading now.**

* * *

Slowly the heads of many turned to the shooter, eyes holding burning rage at the sight of green smoke coming off the end of the high-powered weapon.

A vexed Maddie Fenton stepped forward with a protective and resentful glare in her eyes.

"I've said it before, I'll say it again," She said. Her voice lowered threateningly as she raised her weapon once more and powered it up. "Nobody messes with my baby."

With that, she fired an explosive blast toward a group of ghost guards who had wandered over to the spectacle and surrounded the young halfa.

"Anyone else want some?" She dared, turning to face another group of ghosts who looked ready to approach. They retreated without thinking twice.

"Now," She approached the ghost warden with the weapon. "Maybe next time you'll think again before messing with my son."

She shifted the blaster to its full power. In a flash of bright light, the ghost was gone. Maternal instincts sent her rushing to Danny's side without hesitation.

"Oh sweetie, are you okay?"

"Mom..." He turned to face her. "I'm... I'm so sorry."

"No baby, don't be! It's not your fault, none of it's your fault!"

She engulfed him in a hug, which he returned despite the pressure he felt on his back.

"Let's get everyone home. It's gonna be okay now."

And for once, Danny was able to believe her.

* * *

As Danny's healing powers enabled him to be back to normal in no time, he was back to his ghost fighting self by later in the day. Which was good, because while Danny had planned on taking it easy and taking some time to explain things to his parents, a certain freckled ghost had other ideas...

"**I am the ****_Box Ghost_****! You will ****_all_**** be crushed underneath my cardboard crates of catastrophe!** **_Beware!_**"

Danny just raised an eyebrow at the ghost.

"Really?" He sighed and facepalmed. "Alright, I think we know how this goes."

In what was more of a disposing than a battle, Danny quickly shot the ghost with an ectoblast and sucked him into a thermos, barely moving a muscle in the process.

The _real_ battle was when Danny turned around and was faced with a large crowd, all of them asking questions or challenging him to reveal his human form.

"What's it like being a halfa?"  
"Why won't you reveal your human form?"  
"How many powers do you have?"  
"Which school do you go to?"  
"Tell us your human form!"  
"Phantom? Phantom!"

"_Who are you?_"

Danny realized they would never leave him alone again unless he told them. Everyone saw the self conflict written on his face and paused in expectancy. Danny opened his mouth, ready to say something, when a girl's voice piped from the crowd.

"I can answer that."

Everyone turned to the source of the voice; a teal eyed, black-haired girl standing in the middle of the town.

Danny froze. Valerie wouldn't actually reveal his secret.

Would she?

The reporters sent her an intrigued look. Valerie held a smug look at having gotten their attention so easily.

"You wanna know who Phantom is?"

Much of the crowd nodded, and Valerie took a deep breath...

* * *

**I know, I know. Feel free to tell me what a horrible person I am.**

**The next chapter is the last, so stay tuned for the wrap-up. I don't know if I will ever do a sequel, or if I did what it would be about, but if I do one I will post the announcement for it onto the end of this story as an added chapter.**

**I'm just... I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUYS! *SOBS* I'll see you guys next time to... TO SAY GOODBYE!**

***SOBS WHILE RUNNING AWAY FROM COMPUTER***


	15. Protections and Paradise

**Hey guys... I'm kinda depressed about the end of this. I'll miss it a lot. I'm gonna choose to dedicate one author's note to all of you because if it takes too long, I'll cry, and if I cry, I get blurry eyed, and I make mistakes... it's just better this way.**

**I wanna thank you guys so much for supporting me. I was so surprised that an amateur writer like me (who couldn't even ****_spell _****amateur before the spell check taught me =P) could get this good of a reaction. I just love you guys so much, and you've made me feel so amazing with your support. Thank you guys so much for all of this. **

**I'll miss you guys.**

* * *

"Danny Phantom..." The rest of what Valerie said was missed by the reporters, for her voice trailed off.

"Come again?" One of the reporters tried, pushing a microphone closer to her.

The teen looked uncomfortable at the pushiness of the reporter, and uncertain of how to say exactly what she meant. Nevertheless, she plunged in.

"Danny Phantom is..."

Then her eyes widened, as though she realized exactly what she needed to say. A smile graced her face all of a sudden as she looked down towards her feet.

"A hero."

The reporter holding the microphone furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Excuse me miss, but I thought you were going to-"

"Just," Valerie interrupted, gently taking the microphone from the reporter's hand. "Hear me out."

She turned to the news camera and smiled nervously.

"A lot of you have been trying to find out his identity. And don't get me wrong, I have too." She paused for a breath. "But... here's the thing. We don't need to know his identity in order to know who he is. If you ask me, who you are should be more than just a name. I know that because... I used to be just a name too.

"The girl you see right now is nowhere near who she was several months ago. Several months ago, I didn't even believe Danny Phantom was a hero. I had my own prejudiced opinions about him, and I know a lot of you did. Maybe some of you still do. But... you shouldn't. Because they aren't true."

She sent a small smile up towards Danny, who watched in confusion, then turned back to the camera.

"And if Danny Phantom has taught me one thing, it's that you need more than a name to identify yourself. You need a passion, a story, and thoughts you can call your own. Thanks to him, I have all of those things."

"So, instead of focusing on a name, or rumors, or any of that, why don't we accept him for who he is? For the hero he is."

Danny smiled down at Valerie, who returned it.

"What you're implying is that he wants his identity to stay a secret?" Another reporter asked. Valerie gave her an 'are-you-even-being-serious-right-now' look.

"If he wanted everyone to know, wouldn't he have told everyone a long time ago?" She asked sarcastically. None of the reporters said anything.

"Now go on. Get outta here." Valerie shooed the reporters away, smiling smugly at the effectivness.

Once they had left, Danny flew down towards her.

"Um... thanks. For, um... for a moment there I thought that you would... you know..."

"Why would I do that? You never blew my secret. And besides, I wouldn't do that to a friend."

"I didn't know if you would even want to be friends after all of this. I mean, with your opinions on my ghost half and all that-"

"Hey, I meant every word I said. And I wasn't exactly honest with you either."

"Yeah, but I already knew you were... you."

"That doesn't excuse lying. You had a reason to lie to me."

"Well I'm done lying." He realized what he had just said. "To my friends and family, anyway."

Just then the sound of tires squealing sounded behind them, and they both whirled around to see the GAV park on the edge of the road. Valerie raised her eyebrow quizzically as one by one, the gang piled out of the RV and headed towards the two.

"Hey guys!" Danielle rushed toward the two, followed by Jack, Tucker, Jazz, Maddie and Sam.

Once they all made it over, Danny glanced around suspiciously.

"Coast is clear." Tucker stated, and Danny changed back into his human form.

"So... you know Danny's secret?" Jack asked Valerie.

"Yep, and I'm totally cool with it." She replied. "I was gonna ask him if he had told you yet, but that question's already been answered."

"Speaking of answering questions..." Maddie started in. Danny rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Ask away."

"Well, we're kind of up to date on the Walker thing, and on how you got your powers- save it-" She added as he opened his mouth, knowing he was going to ask how she figured it out. He closed his mouth again. "But... who is Danielle, and how did she get here?"

Danielle smiled up at the two.

"Well... you know that ghost Plasmius I told you about?"

"Yeah," Jack replied, wondering where this was going.

"He's also a half ghost. He thinks that because Danny's half ghost he's gotta have him as a son/student or something like that," She explained, while Danny made a gagging motion behind her.

"And, when he realized that Danny wasn't going to agree to _that_... pop, out comes plan B."

Danny stepped forward to continue the explanation.

"He attempted to make a clone of me, but none of them were... well, me. And they were all destabilizing as well."

"Since I was female, and younger, I wasn't a perfect clone of Danny. But he figured since I was the only one with a mind of my own, he could use me to get to Danny by pretending to be my dad. And unfortunately, I believed him."

"His plan from there was to try and make me go ghost so he could get my merge DNA to make another clone. However, he made one big goof-up. He got on Danielle's bad side when he accidentally revealed his true intentions."

"He had no idea I was right behind him..."

"So then Danielle got me out of that weird... machine thing, and I managed to take the lab down with my ghostly wail, she and I destroyed the "perfect clone", etc."

"But he wasn't happy about us destroying the prime clone, and we only made it out of there alive thanks to Sam and Tucker."

"And the Boomerang..." Danny commented under his breath.

"So then I flew off to do my own thing, but quickly realized I was destabilizing too and needed to come back. I was trying to find Danny in hopes that maybe he could help me, but then I found out that V- Plasmius, had hired Valerie to-"

"Wait, hired Valerie?" Maddie asked.

Valerie looked exhasperated.

"Oh, I'm a ghost hunter, okay? I was led to believe that Plasmius was the good guy and I was wrong, but I didn't know it at the time. I've been keeping my "status" a secret."

The two nodded in thought.

"Anyway," Dani continued. "I found out that he had hired Valerie to bring me back to his lab to *ahem* 'dissect me so he could study my remains.' He still wanted to learn how to make a good clone of Danny, one that wouldn't destabilize."

"Thanks to Valerie, and the faulty Ecto-Dejecto, we were able to stabilize Danielle again. She flew off for a while, and now she's here." He said, gesturing towards Danielle.

Jack, Jazz, Maddie and Valerie looked shocked at this story. Even Valerie had never known that THAT has been the reason he had tricked her.

A long silence filled the air as the group exchanged nervous glances.

"So, uh... I guess I better head off now." Danielle turned away, looking ready to transform.

"Danielle, wait!" Maddie called out from behind. Dani paused to turn towards the two, who sent her a warm smile.

"Why don't you stay here with us?"

Danny looked to his former "cousin" questioningly.

"Well 'cuz, do you want to become a sis?"

Danielle smiled and nodded her head furiously. "Yeah, I'd like that."

The Fenton parents looked at the group ahead of them, their kids and their three secret-keeping friends, with just a hint of confusion in their eyes.

"Just... one more question." Jack looked toward them, and they all nodded.

"Well you kids keep talking about this guy named Plasmius, and- well... who _is_ Plasmius?"

The group sent knowing looks back and forth between each other.

3...

2...

1...

The gang all burst into laughter as they realized how much explaining THIS one would take. Jack and Maddie looked over the group wondering what on Earth was making them laugh so hard.

"What's so funny?"

Danny looked up slightly from his doubled-over posture.

"It's- it's just that-" Another wave of laughter overcame him, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

"Look at Danny, getting interrupted again!" Sam commented, sending the gang into another roar.

"Alright," Tucker managed, attempting to settle himself down to no avail. "Everybody just calm down!" That only made everything worse.

After a moment or two they finally calmed themselves down. Danny turned to face the rest of the group.

"Alright? Who wants to take that one? 3.. 2.. 1..."

"Not it!" They all called out at once, bursting into laughter once again with Jack and Maddie joining in this time.

Okay, so this one would take a bit more explaining than they would probably ever manage between breaths. But hey, it could wait. For right now, Danny was just happy to be having this moment. Here, with the people he cared about the most. And the best part was that now, he knew that whatever came next, whatever was around the corner, they'd be there to share it together.

No matter what.

* * *

**Wow. It's... it's over. Wow...**

**Alright, here's my policy on sequels: I only do them if I can come up with a GOOD idea, and if I feel that adding it won't ruin the original (I've seen fanfics before where the sequel ruined everything because the original was good but the second wasn't as good... no names here.) And I'm not the kind of girl to update her bio often, so if I DID do a sequel, I would add the advertisement on the end of whatever previous fanfiction as an additional chapter. I probably won't do a sequel for this one, though.**

**And now... fun facts about this fanfiction!**

**1: I came up with this idea on the ride home from summer vacation earlier this year, I was originally planning a humor for this one but decided it would be better if I gave it an emotional side.**

**2: I gave Valerie an important role because I had watched Reality Trip and I got mad that they NEVER showed Val's point of view during that.**

**3: I originally was just going to keep it a "try to keep your secret and then everything's okay" fanfiction, but then I wasn't satisfied with that. I thought it would get too boring and let's face it, it would have.**

**4: For a moment after writing chapter 13, I was actually considering REALLY letting Danny die (sorry Danny!) because it was 2 am and I was exploring the different possibilities of it. Then I decided it would be more fun to trick you than to just leave it with death. This is my cruel sick joke.**

**I hope you enjoyed this fanfiction. I look forward to seeing some of you in my other stories, I hope! I'll miss you all until then! **

**See you next time and best wishes,**

**-CC.**


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